Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation
by selfappointed stabmeisters
Summary: Every SeeD and student of Balamb Garden loved the Yuletide season a lot, except two young men who strangely did not. This is the story of those two young men and their friends and how they all came to learn what the holiday season is really about. DONE!!
1. Friday, December the first

Disclaimer: We don't own Final Fantasy VIII, its characters, or the places. We don't really own much of anything, for that matter (see our bio). Any similarities to Holiday movies found in this fic aren't in the least bit coincidental.

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation 

Chapter One

Friday, December the First

It was the first of December and plans for the Winter Festival on the solstice were well under way. The tickets had been sold for the Winterfest ball, the subcommittees and their heads appointed, and the parties were scheduled. This year's Winterfest would be the grandest ever, not just because Selphie Tilmitt was the chair but because the Garden Festival Committee's membership was at an all time high. In fact, so many people were interested that Selphie was forced to turn members away.

Winterfest had always been a special time of year at Balamb Garden, but this year it was even more special because it was the first solstice since the defeat of Ultimecia. The world was at peace once again and it seemed everyone was excited about Winterfest and the whole holiday season. Everyone wanted a good excuse to party, to give and receive gifts and to generally have a 'helluva good time', as Zell so eloquently put it.

Everyone that is, except Quistis Trepe. 

Quistis shifted her weight, trying to get comfortable in the cold metal folding chair. She tried to pay attention to the proceedings, she really did. But for some reason she just couldn't keep her mind on things. Suppressing a yawn, Quistis glanced around the quad absently. A few non-members attended the meetings to keep up with things just in case there was an opening… it certainly paid to have a hero as the committee chairperson.

One person attracted Quistis' attention more than any of the other onlookers, mainly due to the fact that he was male. He stood at the top of the steps half-hidden by a tree. Although he was mostly disguised by shadows and Quistis couldn't see his features clearly, there was something vaguely familiar about him. He was a SeeD, she could tell that by his uniform. His jet-black hair was overgrown and slightly shaggy and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Quistis could not recall ever seeing him before, not that it was any big deal. Garden employed plenty of SeeDs Quistis had never met. It was the haunting familiarity of him that intrigued her.

His head turned slightly toward Quistis. She assumed he must have caught her looking at him because he moved further away into the shadows. An eerie chill prickled Quistis' skin. It almost seemed as if this man was deliberately trying to avoid notice. Unable to study him further, Quistis turned her attention back to the meeting.

"And I have one more announcement before we get on with the sub-committee updates! I saved the best for last, of course!" Selphie's exclaimed in her high-pitched voice. "Garden Master Cid gave us some extra money and I was able to book a live band for the ball!" 

Tremors of excitement moved through the crowd. "Who?" asked Danine, one of the members of the decoration committee, of which Rinoa was the head.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you all yet," the irrepressible SeeD explained. Amid the general boos and shouts of protest Selphie went on to declare, "I don't want the info to leak out way before the celebration and besides the final contract hasn't been signed yet. As soon as I know something for certain, I will get back with you all. Now what's next?" she wondered out loud while glancing at her long list. "Oh yeah," Selphie answered herself. "Zell and Nicole are going to report on how the food subcommittee is coming along. Zell," she nodded at the blond SeeD to take the floor.

Zell jumped to his feet, as excitable as ever. "Now Nicole and I," he explained, nodding to his girlfriend seated at his left, "have come up with an incredibly original idea. Instead of a sit down formal dinner we're going to have -."

"A hotdog bar," a gruff sounding voice interrupted.

Most of the committee burst out laughing as Zell's face fell in shock. "That's right," he stammered. "Who said that?"

As most of the people were turning their heads in an attempt to ascertain whom the culprit was, Quistis realized it had come from the person in the corner. Now her curiosity was thoroughly aroused and she decided to check this mysterious person out a bit closer.

Arising quickly from her seat, Quistis strode toward the corner. Their eyes meeting through the tinted lenses of his glasses, the mystery person whirled and ran from the Quad. _That tears it_, Quistis thought. _I have to find out who this is_! And the blonde instructor broke into a sprint in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing delinquent. "Wait!" she called out, but that appeared to have no affect at all; if anything, it caused the person to increase his speed.

Considering that she was wearing a very long skirt, Quistis was running extremely fast and beginning to gain ground when they burst out of the corridor leading from the Quad. It was there that she ran into a wall of resistance as apparently classes for the day had been adjourned a few minutes before and the atrium was filled with students.

Even then, as she had to duck and dodge her way through the crowd, Quistis continued to narrow the distance between her and the pursued. Her prey, in his anxiety at being discovered, was slowing himself down by rounding his head every few steps to check on Quistis' progress.

Quistis was just a few steps behind the mystery person when he suddenly reeled about and released a canister of marbles he had been carrying; apparently just for this kind of emergency. As the colorful glass balls rolled helter-skelter all over the floor, students were stepping on them and falling all around Quistis, who managed to maintain her balance.

Quistis made a final lunge to reach him and when she did, he jerked back in such a manner that it caused his wig and dark glasses to fall off to the floor. Quistis stopped dead in her tracks in astonishment when she recognized the male she had been pursuing was none other than Seifer.

Seifer – who no one had seen since the day they had fought Adel and was believed dead or at least missing in action, never having made it back from time compression. Taking advantage of Quistis' momentary laxness, Seifer cackled, "Mwahaha!" then turned and disappeared into the crowd. The blonde instructor realized it was now useless to attempt to follow him as he had vanished.

_Oh sweet Shiva_! Quistis thought. _The rumors are true_. She was referring to what she thought was only an apocryphal tale that was currently sweeping the Garden that Seifer was living somewhere hidden within the Garden walls. The blonde woman had thought previously that it was only used to scare the under-classmen into submission.

Supposing she had better return to the committee meeting, because Quistis realized if she didn't she would never hear the end of it from Selphie, the young woman trudged back to the Quad.

"Quistis, where have you been? You're holding up our voting," Selphie reprimanded her petulantly. "Who were you chasing, by the way?"

"It was Seifer."

Cries of consternation arose from the various committee members, but mostly from Rinoa's sub-committee for decorations. "Oh Hyne! Those stories are true!" Danine fearfully exclaimed. Her huge gray-brown eyes growing so wide Quistis was momentarily worried they would swallow her face.

_Poor girl, _thought Quistis, _it must suck to look like one of those bubble-eyed goldfish._

Young women and some young men had jumped up from their chairs so quickly that they were bumping in to each other. "Please, calm down," Selphie entreated. "Quistis was just kidding to break the monotony of the meeting. Weren't you, Quistis?" the committee leader asked looking daggers at her blonde friend while attempting to emit an honest sounding laugh.

Quistis stared back steadfastly and didn't deign to answer the question that was encouraging her to lie. "There, you see, everybody," Selphie pointed out as though her friend had agreed with her, "There is no Seifer problem at Garden!" With a final glare at Quistis, the bouncy SeeD continued, "Now everybody sit down so we can vote on the hot dog bar idea."

Zell jumped out of his seat. "Wait! I haven't described the idea to Quistis yet… she doesn't know what a good idea it is yet!" He began to bounce from foot to foot as if he were ready to begin shadow boxing or needed to urinate very badly.

Selphie rolled her eyes and a few sighs from the crowd mirrored Selphie's impatience. "Fine," she snipped out. "Just make it quick Zell, we only have the Quad for a few more minutes before the Disciplinary Committee holds their weekly hazing party and we still need to hear from the _other _subcommittees."

"Okay, great!" Zell gestured animatedly as he spoke. "See… it won't just be plain old hotdogs. We'll have pork dogs, beef dogs, Chocobo dogs, veggie dogs, foot longs, tiny cocktail weenies for hors d'ouevres…" Zell rambled on for the next ten minutes on the many different ways hotdogs could be prepared and the multitudes of breads and condiments they could be served with. His piece d'resistance was a desert hotdog made of chocolate ice cream served on a vanilla ice cream "bun". By the time Selphie stopped his treatise on the joys of hot dogs Quistis' jaw was hanging slack and she was staring vacantly into space. 

Needless to say, Zell's idea passed the vote without any difficulty because no one wanted to rock the boat, so to speak. They all would have to submit their sub-committees ideas to the larger committee and no one wanted to have a difficult time having their plans accepted. Besides, most of the women there had crushes on Zell and didn't want to hurt the sensitive young man's feelings. 

"What caterer are you going to use, Zell?" Selphie naturally wanted to know before turning over a substantial amount of money to him.

"The Balamb Hot Dog Emporium."

"That's a very good idea. They have a great track record for good service and honesty," she praised while handing over to him an envelope thick with Gil. "Now this is a substantial amount of money," Selphie explained. "Cid was very generous this year. Please take care and don't lose it," she cautioned.

"I'm not gonna lose it," Zell whined while accepting the money.

Pointedly sighing, Selphie returned to her position in front of the seated committee members. "Okay everybody… we are out of time. Are there any concerns we need to hear about from the other sub-committees?" Because everyone there was sitting on the edge of his or her seats poised to escape, no one spoke up. With a broad smile Selphie said, "Good meeting and get to work on your sub-committee's agendas."

As everyone began to stand in preparation of leaving the Quad area, Selphie called out, "Rinoa, could I please speak with you for a moment?"

Rinoa quickly joined her friend. She appeared just as bouncy and cheerful as ever. "What's up, Selph?" the dark-haired woman asked. "Good meeting, by the way."

Selphie hated it when people called her Selph, but she let it pass just as she always did. "Did Squall agree?" the young woman asked Rinoa.

"Yes, he did." There had been just the slightest hesitancy in the ebony haired beauty's voice.

"Are you sure? You're not lying to me, are you Rinoa?" Selphie questioned.

"Well, of all the nerve! Of course I'm not lying to you." Rinoa stood with her hands on her hips leaning slightly over Selphie in a manner, which some people might have construed as menacing.

"Okay, okay," Selphie acquiesced. "I was just asking." Selphie paled slightly and took a step back. It didn't behoove one to piss off a sorceress, especially one with as little control over her power as Rinoa. No one would ever forget the time Rinoa found out that Squall and Irvine had visited a strip club in Esthar while she was in her coma. She'd Angel Winged in the main hallway, randomly casting spells on all the passersby. It had taken three hours to get Rinoa down from the ceiling and Angelo wouldn't come near her for a month. Garden was forced to initialize the "Angel Alert". As long as the alert was active every student was supposed to have reflect cast on him or herself until such time as Rinoa could be calmed down and sedated.

Quistis stood wondering what it was that Rinoa was to ask Squall about. _Whatever it was, _Quistis decided, _Rinoa's lying about it. _Quistis could always tell when the fledgling sorceress was lying. She always puffed herself up like a cat and tried to look as scary as she could without making her face look ugly. Rinoa was a very sweet girl, Quistis loved her dearly… but Rinoa had _issues. _Squall's girlfriend was a passionate young woman with a good heart. However she was also the type of girl who would pick off the choicest, flakiest crispies from the fried Chocobo and wouldn't touch the skin or meat.

Just as Quistis made that silent observation she was joined by her boyfriend, Matt. "Are you okay, Quissy?"  

Quistis suppressed a frustrated sigh at being called Quissy… Quisty was passable since she had been called that all her life. She plastered her most charming grin across her face and turned to Matt. "Of course," she said in the cotton candy voice she reserved for just these times. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you just don't seem to be into the holiday spirit this year, hon." he said gently as if he were talking to a mental patient. Quistis hated to be patronized and began to walk away. Matt quickly followed, no longer speaking in that gentle voice but in tight staccato blasts. "What is it with you lately, Quisty? I don't know why you won't talk to me lately. You are ruining the holidays for me. How could you run out like that and make up that horrible Seifer story? Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?"

Quistis rolled her eyes and did her best to keep control of her temper. Quistis escaped to the solace of her thoughts as they walked to the cafeteria for dinner. There was a time when Quistis was sure that Matt was "the one". He wasn't the type of guy she was used to going out with. He was cute in a babyish sort of way, and not built too badly. But what had intrigued Quistis were the intellectual conversations they would have at night while sitting under the stars. Lately though, he was having more and more of these angry outbursts about how unhappy she was making him and becoming needier and clingier as the days went by.

Quistis knew she was partially responsible for Matt's odd behavior. She was growing more distant and gloomy as the winter holidays approached, but she couldn't figure out why. Quistis had always loved the holidays, but this year she wasn't really looking forward to any of it. Lately she'd been feeling very lonely in spite of the fact that her friends were so close… and she was just so repulsed by the fake cheeriness of salespeople working on commission and the pseudo-heartwarming holiday themed television commercials for hemorrhoid cream. She just didn't want to deal with the parties and get-togethers where she would be forced to smile and pretend to be having a great holiday season.

But she resolved to try and get into the spirit for the sakes of her friends. Besides, what did she have to be so sad about? She had great, if eccentric, friends and a boyfriend she loved.

_And I really love him. Don't I?_

_~*~_

Immediately following the meeting, Rinoa entered Squall's office holding a large holiday wreath she had just finished making before the festival meeting. She was feeling pleased with herself and with the way the wreath had turned out. In fact, Rinoa Heartilly was feeling pleased about the entire holiday season. This was the first year in a long time that she could celebrate the holidays without worrying about battling Galbadia or her group's hideout being discovered. 

Squall sat behind his huge desk that befitted his position as commander. It was completely cluttered with various forms and files. He glanced up impatiently at what he considered to be Rinoa's unwanted intrusion. _Oh Hyne save me_, he thought. _That has to be the ugliest wreath I have ever seen_.

To be fair to everyone involved, it was probably best to describe the wreath as unique. It had oddly colored branches in pink, green, purple, and orange sticking out in obtuse directions. "Good afternoon, lover," the beauty joyously sang out. "Isn't it the most beautiful day?"

"Whatever."

Rinoa refused to allow Squall's typical bad attitude to ruin her mood or deter her from her mission. "I've made you this wreath to hang on your door. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Well, it's different," the commander said, halfheartedly attempting to save Rinoa's feelings. Squall fearfully peeked at Rinoa's creation out of the corner of his eye and shivered slightly.

"Oh you," she cooed while placing the wreath on his desk. "I want you to hang this on your door this afternoon."

"Rinoa, I can't hang that thing on my door," Squall said plaintively.

"Oh, and why is that?" Rinoa asked, her back stiffening.

"To be blunt, the needles will all fall off within a week and just make a big mess. Besides, I hate the holiday season and it is the ugliest wreath I have ever seen." Squall suddenly looked frightened as he realized he'd actually said that last part aloud.

Rinoa appeared for a second as if she were going to cry, but she quickly recovered by telling herself it was Squall's attempt at making a joke. She forced a smile on her face. "Don't sugar coat it like that, tell it to me straight."

"Huh?" Squall responded, fully expecting her to erupt into Angel Wing or send Angelo to rip his throat out. He stared at her blankly.

Sighing deeply, Rinoa realized Squall would probably never develop a sense of humor. "I mean," she explained, "I know you'll hang it up when I leave, so just stop teasing me."

Hoping to end this silly discussion, Squall replied, "Whatever," and he turned back to the paperwork on his desk. Deciding to give Squall a few minutes to finish up his paperwork before continuing with her mission, Rinoa backed up to the corner where she usually sat when she wanted to be near Squall. She smiled fondly, but worriedly at her boyfriend. Didn't Squall know how much she loved him? For a while after the war ended Squall had seemed happy, but things had only deteriorated from there. Lately he- 

"Oh Hyne!" Rinoa cried as she fell backwards to the floor, bruising her posterior end. 'Where the hell is my chair?" she whined, rubbing her bottom as she picked herself off the floor.

"Oh, it's missing." Squall explained without looking up from his task.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Squall glanced over his shoulder. "Well, I would assume you'd look before sitting down," he said.

"You could at least ask me if I am okay." Rinoa glared at the back of her boyfriend's hair, crossed her arms and began to tap her dainty foot.

"I can see that you are fine," he told her in an inflectionless voice.

Rinoa counted to backwards from ten in her mind, taking a relaxing breath at each number the way her childhood therapist had taught. It would do her cause no good if she lost her temper. Why couldn't Squall see how much she loved him? Didn't he realize that his coldness was breaking her heart?

Rinoa made her voice as sweet as possible, although there was an obvious tightness to it that Squall either didn't notice or chose to ignore. "Don't you think this disappearing furniture problem is a bit odd?"

"No… things get moved and lost." 

Rinoa's jaw dropped. "Squall… chairs get moved, maybe even lost… but beds, dressers… and the Secret Area's port-a-potty? Who would want that thing?" 

"They'll turn up."

"You know, " said Rinoa, sitting on the corner of Squall's desk, "Quistis thinks she saw Seifer today."

Squall snorted. "Quistis smokes Gysahl Greens."

"Don't you think the rumors could be true?"

Squall pointed at an overflowing wicker basket on his desk. "See that Rinoa?" he snapped. "Those are all the Seifer sighting reports I've received in the past week. I don't even bother reading them anymore."

"But-"

"Rinoa," Squall said with a patronizing smile, "The rumors of Seifer living in the walls of Garden are a myth… urban legend. Like the idiotic idea that our swimming pool or Laundromat could be haunted."

Rinoa lifted up a finger, "Actually…"

Squall gave Rinoa his most irritated glower and she instantly shut up. A few moments later, tired of listening to nothing but the sound of Squall's pencil point make contact with the paper, Rinoa asked, "Does Quistis really smoke Gysahl Greens? I thought it was Zell-"

"What?" Squall's pencil point snapped. "No…Oh! I don't know!" Squall turned purple-red with anger. "Rinoa," he said from behind his clenched jaw, doing everything in his power not to scream, "I have a short break later, I promise to dedicate the whole fifteen minutes to you if you want. Now would you please leave me alone?"

Rinoa stood stiffly. "Fine," she said, and strode to the door. She stood at Squall's office door with her finger hovering over the sensor pad that opened the sliding door. She was angry, but she couldn't leave. Her friends were counting on her, and she didn't want to have to humiliate herself by having to admit her lie to Selphie. She stood in that position for about five minutes before a new strategy formed in her mind.

Sidling up behind Squall, Rinoa bent down crossing her arms across his shirt covered chest. _You're still here_? he thought wearily.

"Squa-all," his winsome girlfriend whispered in his left ear. "We want to borrow the Ragnarok to fly to Trabia tomorrow to get a holiday tree for our celebration."

The commander's irritation began to return. "Absolutely not. You can't be using the Ragnarok for frivolous errands. What if we had an emergency and needed it when you were gone?"

"Aw, Squall, that's just too silly," his girlfriend responded, while running her hands downward beneath his shirt. When her hands reached near his waist, she began to gently rub all around teasingly threatening to move even lower.

"Rinoa!" Squall croaked.

"What, dearest?" she asked in the most dulcet of tones.

"Oh, never mind," the commander muttered. "Go ahead and take the Ragnarok, but try to be quick about it."

"Thank you so much, Squall," Rinoa said, snuggling his head under her chin.

"Now go away and let me do some work," he said, trying to pull his head free.

"But there's something else I want to ask you."

"What now?" He sighed resignedly.

Stepping back around in front of her man, Rinoa offered him her most wondrous smile and explained, "I want you to go with us. I think it'll be great fun."

"Rin, I absolutely refuse to go with you. Even if I weren't all backed up with this paperwork, I still wouldn't go. It wouldn't be fun to me. I hate the holidays and I wish to be reminded of them as little as possible."

Squall looked aghast as Rinoa dropped her dress to the floor and stood appareled in various bits and pieces of lacy underclothing. She leaned forward and hugged him around the neck. "When's the last time we made love?" she asked.

Squall began to choke on the saliva he'd accidentally inhaled. "Rinoa!" he screeched. "We're in my office!"

"I know where we are, silly. I don't need a tour guide," she replied, kissing him softly around the neck. She didn't appear to notice that Squall grew stiffer with every kiss, but not in the way she intended him to.

"Alright, I'll go with you," Squall acquiesced. "Now go so I can finish my work," 

Rinoa appeared slightly disappointed as she prepared herself to leave. "Now, if that isn't back-asswards, I don't know what is," she muttered.

"What?" Squall asked, confused as he always was around his girlfriend.

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. Now put that wreath up right away." Rinoa bent down and offered Squall a quick kiss on his lips and then turned and left his office.

Squall emitted a large sigh and then picked up the wreath and dropped it into his wastebasket. Giving it one last glance and a violent shudder, he returned to his paperwork.

~*~

Just as ancient Rome had its catacombs and Gotham City its extensive sewage system in which hid a multitude of sins and many an evil denizen, the Garden had the MD level. Currently the hideaway housed one resident whose sleep was about to be disturbed.

"Hey, Seifer, wake up! We've got dinner, ya know!" Raijin exclaimed.

When Garden resumed its rightful place outside of Balamb Proper, Headmaster Cid had experimented, with the help of the FH technicians, in building hidden passageways through the walls from the MD level that could be utilized by Garden personnel in case of sudden and unexpected outside attack. He later decided that it probably would cause more harm than assistance in the long run and locked away the entire level. Few knew of these tunnels at first, but rumors of them escaped ultimately leading to the birth of the Seifer "legend".

When Seifer and his cohorts secretly returned to the Garden, he was able to persuade Nida with a substantial sum of money to 'borrow' Cid's keys and have copies made for him. This is where the blond ex-knight had been residing along with Raijin and Fujin since their return to, what they still considered, their home. The three of them had set up housekeeping on the lowest level. They were able to purloin such necessities such as beds, bureaus, tables, and other furniture through forays into the Garden during the minimal staffed midnight shift. They also had a computer hookup and even a porta-potty, which they made Raijin empty thrice daily. 

The computer had been a purely lucky find. It was originally intended to be Headmaster Xu's and had been delivered on the very day Rinoa had Angel Winged, sending the Garden into turmoil. The deliveryman, on his way to deliver the new system had been hit with one of Rinoa's spells (probably _Confuse_) and had wandered off leaving the new computer unattended. As it turned out, the computer contained one of a kind program to run Garden's new security system, which was now utterly useless to Xu and entirely under Seifer's power. Rumor had it that Garden and Balamb Electronic Enterprises would be in litigation for years… each side blaming the other for the loss of the overpriced computer.

The deliveryman is fine, by the way. He had wandered in a stupor around Garden for two days before he was found imitating one of the fountain fish in the main hallway outside the Training Center. Fortunately for Garden's insurance policy, the man remembered nothing and was diagnosed with a rare mental illness since magic could not be proven.

Unfortunately the posse hadn't been able to obtain a refrigerator and oven, so consequently they had to go out and obtain each meal. Again this job fell under Raijin's job description, but sometimes Fujin took pity on the big man and traveled with him. Such was the case on this particular evening.

"I'm awake, quit your yelling," ordered Seifer.

"Hey Seifer, we've got hot dogs ya know!" Raijin responded, paying absolutely no attention to his leader's admonishment.

_Hot dogs again_! _Every night the same damn thing_. _Oh well_, _at least we_'_re cutting into Chicken Wuss_'_s supply_.

Joining the other two who were already seated at the table, Seifer inquired, "How'd did it go?"

"SATISFACTORY," Fujin answered in her typical fashion.

"Let me tell you what I found out," Seifer declared. He proceeded to inform the other two every thing he had witnessed at the holiday celebration committee meeting and his subsequently being chased by Quistis.

"But don't worry," he concluded, "The fools will never believe her anyway. What I need now is a plan to wreck their festival." He gave a similar sinister laugh as he had given Quistis in the atrium.

_WHY_? Fujin wondered to herself. Through every situation she had witnessed prior, Fujin had never seen Seifer so close to being completely out of control. What had changed him?  And why was he laughing like a crazed character in a bad horror film? When Raijin looked askance at her, she silently shook her head.

"Sure, Seifer," Raijin agreed. "We'll be glad to help, ya know."

"Good," the ex-knight replied, as he stood up from the table. "I'm going for a walk to discover whatever else I can use to help destroy their holidays."

As Seifer stepped into the passageway inside the wall, Raijin and Fujin sat talking, huddled together.He didn't give his friends a backward glance as the panel slid shut behind him with a hiss. Seifer was already lost deeply in thought. As he wandered through the musty tunnels, the ex-knight's thoughts began to grow dejected. Try as he might Seifer could not think of anything to ruin the holidays with except a few childish pranks.

His frustration soon led to a bizarre conversation with himself:

_"'Mwahahaha?'  What was that about?"_

_"I dunno… it just seemed to fit."_

_"Pathetic, Almasy… you are absolutely pathetic."_

_"I am not! I am a tragic outcast from society… like Batman… or The Phantom of the Opera. Yeah! That's it! I'm the Phantom… he's romantic and tragic!"_

Having cheered himself up, Seifer began wandering from room to room picking up odds and ends for Nida's Saturday morning pickup and for Seifer's own "Chicks of Balamb" website. The members-only porn site featured nude shots and shower videos of the more pleasing student bodies and sold their lingerie for exorbitant prices. Seifer was making ridiculous amounts of money that he carefully stashed away in many places where no one would ever find it…one of which was inside a bowl wrapped up in old martial arts magazines under Zell's bed. Zell never cleaned his room, he never would, and Seifer knew his money was safe. 

In his wanderings, Seifer soon found himself in one of the instructors suites. The room was very pink and smelled like honeysuckle… there was only one person Seifer knew that used that scent. Quistis Trepe. That afternoon had been the first time Seifer had seen Quistis since taking up residence in Garden. He'd known she was around and had deliberately avoided her. Somehow he'd always suspected she'd recognize him… and he had suspected correctly. A glance at the photos on the desk confirmed his suspicions on the resident of the room. It was Quistis'. Only she would have a picture of herself posing next to an unaware Squall at some dance.

Shaking his head in disgust at Quistis' continued secret crush on the aloof commander, Seifer wandered through the comfortable room. He briefly pawed through Quistis' hamper and pocketed a bra and a few pairs of panties to sell on his website. Then he paused to examine the presents she had obviously been intending to wrap that were laid out across her kitchen table. 

One present stood out to Seifer more than any other there partially because it was so much more expensive than any of the other gifts, but also because it was something on Seifer's wish list: a limited-edition Oso Swanton pattern-welded gunblade with a polished ebony handle. It was one of the most expensive blades on the market and had sold out before Seifer had the money from his website to order one. Seifer didn't need to be told for whom this magnificent weapon was intended. He already knew it was for Squall.

Seifer felt terribly stiff as he practiced a few of his favorite moves with the finely crafted blade. It had been too long since he'd fought. Far too long.

A gasp startled Seifer and he looked up to see Quistis standing in the bathroom doorway, her hair wrapped up in a fluffy pink towel and wearing nothing but a red satin bra and panties set. "Seifer!" Quistis blurted out, her face growing frightened as she saw he was wielding a weapon. "Don't hurt me! Take whatever you want! I'm unarmed!"

"Quistis! I'm not gonna-" Seifer said as he took a step toward his old instructor.

Quistis, in her shock and momentary fear backed up, and slipped in a small puddle on the gray tile of the bathroom floor. She fell backward with a screech. Luckily the towel on her head and the thick peach rug on her bathroom floor prevented any real damage from being done and Quistis was only momentarily dazed.

Without thinking, Seifer tossed aside the gunblade and ran to Quistis' side to make sure she was all right. She blinked slowly up at him, her crystalline eyes obviously having trouble focusing. The fragrance of honeysuckle hung in the moist air and Seifer felt a bit giddy beneath his concern for her. He picked her up tenderly and carried her to the bed.

Seifer knelt on the floor for a few moments beside the bed and watched to make sure Quistis was okay before he stood up to leave. "Seifer," the beautiful instructor called to him as she leaned up on her elbow. He turned over his shoulder to look at her. "Thank you for helping me, " she said, still too dazed to even wonder what he was doing in her room.

"Helping you?" he asked, rubbing his palms together, "What makes you think I was helping you?" Quistis eyes widened and she tried to get away from Seifer, but in her dizzy state she was too slow.

Picking up a roll of iridescent cellophane and burgundy velvet ribbon, Seifer quickly trussed Quistis up in the holiday wrappings and left her writhing on the bed. Laughing maniacally, Seifer slipped through the secret panel in Quistis' ceiling.

Moments later an impatient knock came to Quistis door. "Quissy!" Matt called through the door. "Are you in there?" He waited a moment then tried again. "Quissy, hon… it's time for our date… are you in there?"

Quistis finally managed to work out the ribbon that Seifer had gagged her with. "Matt! Help!" she cried out, suddenly glad Matt had talked her into giving him a copy of her dorm key in case of emergency.

When Matt entered the room he stopped short, gaping at the delectable gift on the bed. "Oh Great Hyne…"

"Well aren't you going to untie me?" asked Quistis impatiently.

Matt immediately came to her, blushing furiously as he began to work on the knots. "I-I'm glad to see y-you get-getting into the holiday spirit, Quistis…"

"But-"

Matt shook his head. "Now l-let me finish," he told her.

"But-"

"I am really flattered," Matt continued, cutting Quistis off, "And I am really turned on… but I really want us to wait until after we marry… so our first time together is _right."_

_First time? Marriage? _Quistis knew she was in some serious trouble. _Oh sweet Hyne, save me!_


	2. Saturday, December the second

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Two

Saturday, December the Second

Early the next morning, Zell was piloting the Ragnarok to the cold, windy climes of Trabia. Nicole sat at his side, supposedly serving as his co-pilot, but in reality she was there as more of an anchor to reality for him.

The rest of our heroes, plus Quistis' boyfriend Matt and a few tagalong members of various subcommittees were gathered in the passenger lounge, which was the compartment adjacent to Zell and Nicole. They were all boisterously belting out holiday songs that were being blasted over the intercom into the cockpit, much to Zell's dismay because he absolutely hated off key singing. 

Everyone present was joyously singing...except for Squall. The commander was sitting in the corner with his lips drawn tightly shut in a straight line in silent protest. He was intensely scowling at everyone present, rolling his eyes and sighing loudly through his flared nostrils.

Selphie, who was leading the singing, couldn't help but notice Squall's ill humor. She was the type of person who couldn't stand to see someone not having fun, especially during something she took the time to organize. In an attempt to help him out of his shell, Selphie decided to point out his behavior to everyone. "Hey, Squall!" she shouted out over the din of their off key caterwauling. "Come on, get with the program. Can't you hear? We desperately need your help."

Naturally everyone turned to stare where he was huddled in the corner of the lounge. Squall flushed bright crimson and in an attempt to save some semblance of pride blurted out, "Can you tell me again why I was forced to loan you _my _Ragnarok and waste a perfectly good Saturday to fly to a frozen wasteland?" Any of the singers who hadn't stopped already suddenly fell silent in disbelief. It was rare for Squall to put together more than a few syllables in a day.

Undaunted, Selphie explained, "Why, to bring back to Garden that most important of holiday symbols, of course!"

"We are wasting expensive fuel that Garden so generously supplies just so you can buy one of those Trabian fruitcakes?" Squall asked sarcastically. The entire group began to laugh, which only made Squall even angrier.

"Oh don't be silly!" replied Selphie as she picked up a basket that had been sitting at her feet. "I have one of those right here!" She began to hand out pieces of plastic wrapped fruitcake to everyone as she explained, "We are on a search for the Balamb Garden Winterfest Tree!" And with that Selphie took a hunk of the confection she was passing out and tossed it playfully at Squall. 

Unfortunately, the commander had chosen just that moment to place his forehead in his hand as he always did when frustrated. There is no way to gently throw a Trabian fruitcake, even a small piece, and the petrified dessert landed directly on the top of his head with a sickening _thwud. _Thanks to the fact that Squall's skull was incredibly thick, no damage was done, except to his pride.

 He stared at the fruitcake, which had landed in his lap, and opened his mouth to speak. Then, apparently thinking better of whatever he was going to say, Squall instead stood up, glowered at Selphie and stalked from the compartment amidst the amused giggling of his comrades.

Rinoa immediately burst into tears and the laughter stopped entirely. 

"Oh, what's wrong, Sweets?" Quistis asked as she knelt beside the crying woman. Her concern was genuine. Quistis was always dismayed at the sight of a woman crying over a man, particularly as one as hardheaded and misanthropic as Squall.

"Squall's...just been...so grouchy...lately," Rinoa recounted between sobs. "And I think it's because he doesn't love me anymore." She emitted a loud hiccup and began to wail… a sound somewhere between the yowling of a cat in heat and a police siren.

Selphie immediately knelt down by Rinoa and offered a hug. "Don't be silly, Rinoa. Of course he still loves you. He's just being...Squall," she explained.

"Well, you know what they say," Matt interjected, trying to be helpful. "There's plenty more fish in the sea. Just throw him back and look for another one." 

"But… but…" Rinoa argued, " I thought he'd changed!"

Matt smiled and shook his head patiently. "A tiger never changes his stripes," he informed Rinoa in his most caring of voices. No one knew what to say to that and Rinoa began to bleat and hiccup all the louder.

Quistis glared at her boyfriend. _What do I see in him_? she wondered, angry at his insensitivity. "Matt, I want you to go check with Zell and see how much longer it will be until we get to Trabia."

When he began to protest, Quistis commanded, "Now!" Turning pale, Matt hurried from the passenger cabin without even a backward glance. _I am definitely going to have to do something about this Matt problem_, Quistis decided.

Irvine broached his opinion. He was hoping to impress Selphie with his erudition and insight into the situation. "Rinoa, it's not your fault," the longhaired cowboy said. "Squall has always been like this at this time of year. It's because he and Ellone were dumped off at the orphanage on Solstice Eve and then later Ellone disappeared just before the holidays also."

"There you see, Rinoa," Quistis agreed. "It's not your fault at all. Now, here, dry your eyes and let's see that smiling Rinoa face of yours." She handed the ebony-haired woman her handkerchief.

"Thank you," Rinoa murmured, while blowing her nose hard several times into Quistis' hanky. The sound, much like that of a moose giving birth, reverberated off the cabin walls. When the young sorceress offered to return the handkerchief, Quistis suggested to Rinoa that she keep it, for Quistis, being the type of woman to only use cloth hankies rather than the cheap paper type, had plenty more where that came from.

"I've got a great idea!" Selphie exclaimed in her usual exuberant manner. "Why don't we invite Ellone and Sir Laguna for the holidays? That's bound to cheer Squall up."

"That might work," Rinoa agreed in a weak voice. She offered a tired smile to the group.

Quistis kept her skepticism to herself. _I don't think anything is going to pull Squall out of his funk outside of a holiday miracle_, she thought. 

~*~

Selphie was in the lead of the entire crew as they tromped across the Bika Snowfield  (although Bika Snowdrifts would have described it more accurately). Even though it was the heat of the day in the early afternoon, there were sub-zero temperatures and almost blizzard like conditions as the prevailing strong winds was blowing the light snow at near gale force speed.

"Okay!" Selphie exclaimed, in between gusts of snow blowing into her open mouth. "Isn't this fun?"

"No, it isn't," Squall surly answered.

_No_, _it is definitely not fun_, Quistis echoed in her mind.

"This is a damn blizzard," Squall elaborated his complaints. "And every time we go into a forest to look for a tree, we get attacked by a Blue Dragon and you all run off and leave it to me to deal with. And on top of that I'm freezing to death."

"Oh, pshaw," Selphie riposted.

_Pshaw_? Quistis thought. _What planet is this girl from_?

"Well, we're having a good time, aren't we Rinoa?" asked the exuberant young woman.

Rinoa declined to answer since it was taking all her strength to continue trudging forward in the high winds and yet keep her outfit from blowing away off her body. _Oh why didn_'t _I wear a winter coat_? _After all it is December_.

Quistis glanced at Matt and observed for once he appeared incapable of an inane remark, since he too seemed to be too cold to talk. The clicking of Squall's chattering teeth became even more pronounced as they walked further. Irvine suggested, "Why don't we try that large forest over there? Maybe we'll have better luck."

"Good idea," praised Selphie and she quickly led the forlorn, bedraggled group into the new forest. They did experience a change of fortune as Irvine had hoped, because at least a Blue Dragon didn't attack them this time. It was a good thing too because Squall was finally too frozen to assist in any fighting.

The group as a whole became rather edgy since every tree pointed out was found fault with by Selphie. Practically everyone in the group excepting Squall had found a tree completely acceptable, although the group leader thought it didn't have the right shape or wasn't grand enough or wasn't tall enough.

Finally Quistis spoke in complaint as only she, Irvine, and Selphie had retained the power of speech. In fact, Zell's bare legs had turned blue from the cold and Squall actually had a thin layer of ice over his eyes and was, in effect, blind at the moment. "Selphie, since you don't like anyone else's choice, why don't you pick one out?" the instructor asked.

"Okay, I will," Selphie replied accepting the challenge and taking no offense.

After a few minutes of careful perusing, she pointed to a tree that was at least thirty-five feet in height. "There," Selphie declared. "I want that one."

"Selphie," Irvine complained, "That is just way too big."

"Too big for what – the Ragnarok or the Garden with it's sixty foot ceilings?" she asked sarcastically.

"Well, how are we supposed to cut it down?" the young cowboy asked plaintively.

"With a saw, of course."

Zell suddenly made a noise that sounded like a cross between a gulp and a burp.

Turning to him, Selphie inquired pointedly, "You did remember to bring the saw, didn't you?"

"Uh...uh..." Zell stammered as much from his forgetting the saw as he did from the freezing temperature.

"OH SUPER-DUPER-MEGA-BUMMER!" the self-appointed group leader exclaimed. "How could you forget the saw?" she accused, pointing at Zell with a hand on her hip.

Matt finally located his tongue to advise, "No use crying over spilt milk."

Nicole automatically stepped in front of Zell to protect him from further assault or insult. 

"What are we gonna do?" Selphie whined in an unpleasant drone that resembled a buzz saw.

Rinoa finally had enough. Not only was she so frozen she thought her bones were going to shatter from brittleness, but now to have to deal with Selphie's extremely unpleasant whining was just too much.

"Everyone, stand back," she commanded in her stern sorceress tone.

Everyone jumped back in due haste since they realized Rinoa was capable of anything once she allowed herself to become submerged in her sorceress role. The young sorceress suddenly summoned Tonberry. The very small, almost tiny in comparison, GF waddled across the forest floor to the base of the tree. Just before the GF struck it with the chef's knife, the tree began to sweat profusely in fear. **BOINK!** The tree came crashing down. 

Unfortunately Rinoa hadn't allowed for the wind and other factors when she released Tonberry and the huge tree came crashing down directly towards the party! Seconds before the tree landed on them, the group dashed out of the way – all save Squall, who was frozen to his spot.

"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. At the last possible ten thousandth of a second she raced to him and knocked him out of the tree's path. 

"Booyaka!" Selphie cheered.

The loading of the extra large tree was anticlimactic after that and the Ragnarok headed back to Garden.

~*~

"And cut that one over there," Selphie directed.

Irvine and Zell were busy trimming the excess branches from the tree under the less than expert supervision of Selphie and Rinoa. And on a tree that large there were a lot of excess branches. Irvine was already breathing through his mouth hard and only his pride had prevented him from complaining at the pace that was being dictated to him by his girlfriend and only Zell's excellent physical condition had spared him. Quistis had already led the totally frozen Squall to his office to thaw him out.

"And cut those two over there and then get that other one," Selphie declared. "And get those three over there too," Rinoa chimed in. And so it went for at least another half an hour, until the corridor outside of the grand ballroom resembled a veritable Black Forest, because it was knee deep in trimmings and still the tree was so large it didn't appear to be missing a twig.

"Hey, Sefie," Irvine broached in an attempt to escape further torture at the hands of the two young women. "Have you given any thought to what kind of container we're gonna keep the tree in?"

"How about a twenty gallon pail?" Zell quickly suggested.

"That's a good idea," Selphie praised.

Before Irvine could speak further, Zell volunteered, "I'll go get one."

_Damn_! _It was my idea_, Irvine thought bitterly. And to make matters worse, Zell flashed him a big grin before leaving. "Okay for you, hotdog boy!" Irvine cried after him. "I'll get you back for this."

"And bring back some rope to tie the tree up," Selphie shouted to him.

"No prob!" Zell answered as he scurried down the hallway.

"Irvine, pay attention!" his girlfriend admonished. "Rinoa just told you to get those two branches over there."

Squall walked up the corridor. "Squall, are you feeling better?" Rinoa asked in a compassionate tone.

The cold man, in more ways than one, just glared at her in answer as he blamed her entirely for his almost freezing to death. Instead he responded sarcastically, "Well, wonderful tree, Selphie. Where in the world are you ever going to put a tree that huge?"

"Bend over Squall, and I'll show you," Selphie suggested.

Squall flushed dark crimson in anger and Rinoa's giggling appeared to make the commander even angrier, if that was possible. He turned on his heel and stalked away.

"Oh, Selphie, you're so baaaaad!" Rinoa giggled.

"Heh, heh! He deserved it."

After Zell arrived back with the huge bucket and rope, Selphie ordered the two lads to tie some of the rope to the tree in order to move it into the ballroom. The tree was so large that it had taken around twenty SeeDs and upperclassmen to carry it from the Ragnarok to where it now sat.

After trussing up the tree, a long period of time passed with pulling and tugging and perspiring and deep breathing and cursing. Finally Zell dropped his end of the rope, straightened up and said, "It's no use. It's just too wide for the doors."

Zell was correct. Even though there were double doors that opened out that led to the ballroom, the tree was just too large to fit. "Well, what are we gonna do?" Selphie whined. "It won't do any good to trim anymore. We couldn't possibly cut enough of it off, because it would lose its beautiful shape."

Wincing as he spoke because he was absolutely hating what he was going to suggest, Irvine broached, "We'll just have to go get another tree."

Amid the groaning of Zell and Rinoa, Selphie exclaimed, "No way, Jose! We're using this tree."

"Who?" Rinoa asked, confusion crossing her pretty features. "Who's Jose?" she asked innocently.

When Zell and Irvine burst out laughing, Rinoa's countenance flashed darkly at the thought she was being mocked. Selphie hurried to repair the situation by saying, "Oh, that's just a very little known expression, Rinoa. Isn't that right, boys?" she asked pointedly, while arching her eyebrows at Zell and Irvine.

Irvine picked up on the nonverbal communication and replied, "That's right, Rinoa. In fact, that's only the second time I've ever heard it in my life."

The dark-haired woman smiled sweetly. "Oh, that's different," she said.

Selphie made an executive decision and ordered Zell to go and obtain a sledgehammer. A few minutes later, Zell and Irvine along with some newly recruited upperclassmen dragged the huge tree through the recently renovated grand ballroom double doors.

Looking at the partially destroyed wall, Zell declared, "Oh man, Selphie. I don't think Cid is going to like this."

"Oh, who cares? It'll give maintenance something to do, but they better wait until after the holidays if they don't want a tree permanently in the center of the ballroom," Selphie answered. "Now everyone tie some rope onto this tree and let's get it hoisted up, and make certain it's tied tightly."

A few minutes later it became quite obvious that Selphie's estimate of the height of the grand ballroom was greatly exaggerated as the entire top part of the huge tree was squashed against the ceiling.

"This tree is just too damn big, Selphie," Zell complained.

"It looks beautiful, Zell," Selphie retorted. "What are you talking about?"

One of the ropes suddenly became unraveled and the huge tree began to topple over. Everyone moved in the direction of making himself or herself scarce when the tree landed, except for Rinoa who grabbed on to the now loose rope in hopes of holding the tree upright. As the tree lunged against the other better tied strictures, it suddenly halted in its downward trend throwing Rinoa, who was still holding her rope tightly, up in the air and then whip lashing her through one of the plate glass windows.

Everyone stood in shocked silence for a split second and then Selphie screamed, "Oh Zell! You've killed Rinoa!"

Irvine loped over to the broken out window and looked down and observed the by now familiar sight of Rinoa hanging from the side of the Garden. "Rinoa, hang on! We'll go get Squall."

_Hang on_, she thought sardonically. _What else am I gonna do_?

After being alerted by a hysterical Zell, Squall trudged into the ballroom. Taking one long look at the now partially toppled tree, he snorted and then continued over to the broken window.

"Rinoa, what are you doing?" he asked resignedly.

"Oh, just hanging around." She smiled winsomely up at him.

_Very funny_, Squall thought. "Here," he said, while holding his long gunblade down to her. "Grab on to that and I'll pull you up."

"Don't accidentally pull the trigger," Rinoa giggled.

_Don't tempt me_, he thought.

Once Rinoa had again achieved standing on the ballroom floor, the group erupted in cheers and Rinoa threw herself in a hug onto the totally mannequin-like Squall. "Oh, thank you so much," she cooed. "You saved me again."

Squall removed her hands from him and said, "Rinoa, you and I both realize you could have Angel Winged and saved yourself. Now, don't bother me again. I'm attempting to get this backlog of paperwork taken care of."

Squall stalked from the ballroom now completely silent except for the sound of Rinoa breaking into a new round of sobbing. Selphie tried to offer Rinoa some comfort. "Aw, Rinny, don't cry. It'll be okay."

A short while later, the ballroom stood completely empty of people except for Zell and his girlfriend. The tree now stood secure in its mooring and was awaiting further decorations. Zell sat slumped on the floor while Nicole was leaning over him, her hand resting on his shoulder.

"I almost killed Rinoa," he wailed.

"No, you didn't. It wasn't your fault. It could have happened to anyone." Nicole did her best to make Zell feel better. She knew her boyfriend had a real problem dealing with guilt.

"I almost killed Rinoa," Zell insisted stubbornly.

"But you didn't, that's the important thing. Squall saved her," Nicole said.

"I made Squall and Rinoa argue with each other," he declared, beginning a new track of whining.

"Zell, they were already arguing with each other. You had nothing to do with that," his girlfriend explained.

"I almost killed Rinoa."

"Oh, Zell," Nicole sighed.


	3. Sunday, December the third

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Three

Sunday, December the Third

It was almost noon, and Quistis' stomach was reminding her of this fact. Quistis, weighed down with Selphie's purchases, followed her tiny friend through the Balamb Mall. It was a small mall, but big enough to pick up the odds and ends they'd forgotten at their last shopping excursion in Deling. 

Wincing in pain and annoyance as she was shoved from behind by a hurrying shopper, Quistis asked, "Don't you think you're overdoing it a little?" Selphie turned from paying for her purchase and looped another shopping bag over Quistis' arm. _Since when am I the designated pack-Chocobo? _wondered Quistis.

"Don't be silly! When's the last time I overdid anything?" Selphie said in a cheerful voice. Quistis opened her mouth to speak but Selphie commanded, "Don't answer that!" Both young women burst into laughter. Selphie was quite aware that she tended to get fanatical about things.

Selphie and Quistis continued to wander from store to store picking up random gifts and stocking stuffers for their friends. When Quistis sighed for the tenth time in fifteen minutes, Selphie finally demanded, "Quistis, what is wrong with you?"

Deciding to be honest for once, Quistis said, "I'm just not having that great of a holiday season."

"So I noticed," Selphie declared while examining yet another reindeer snow globe. 

"I'm sorry I've been so down, Selphie."

Selphie sighed. "What seems to be the problem?"

Quistis took a deep breath then asked, "What is this all about? What are we doing?"

"Huh? We're shopping."

Quistis rolled her eyes. "I know that, but why? Why are we running ourselves ragged and getting so worked up over this holiday?"

"Because that's what the holidays are all about!"

"I thought they were about having fun."

Selphie patted Quistis' back patronizingly. "Don't be silly Quistis! Everyone knows Winterfest is all about the presents and the parties! That's why we are all working to make this the most perfect holiday season ever!"

Quistis wrinkled her brow as she mulled over what Selphie had just said. She didn't totally agree with Selphie, but Quistis had no desire to argue further.

A short while later, Quistis asked, "Why doesn't anyone want to talk about Seifer?"

"Oh no!" Selphie stomped her foot and turned to glare at Quistis. "Don't start on this again, Quisty! Please?"

"What?"

"I thought we agreed you were joking about that!"

Noticing that some other shoppers were listening in, Quistis lowered her voice. "No, Selphie, YOU agreed I was joking. I didn't say anything, remember?"

Selphie said nothing, but instead began to examine a store window with feigned interest.

Quistis shook her head in frustration. "Selphie, I thought I could count on at least you to be honest about this."

Selphie leaned back against the glass of the display window and gazed up at Quistis with a frown. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe we just don't want to talk about _him?"_

"But it's not just that! The new lesson plans for next semester came out the other day… and they are finally allowing us to talk about the war."

"So?"

"So?" Quistis shifted her load of shopping bags around to ease the pain in her arms. "Selphie, Seifer isn't mentioned at all!"

"Good!" the bouncy haired SeeD stalked off, and Quistis followed quickly behind. "If I ever hear _his _name again, it'll be too soon!"

Quistis couldn't believe what she was hearing from her normally forgiving friend. When Matron had returned to Garden to live she had explained that Ultimecia had used Seifer's weaknesses to brainwash him. He'd been a pawn of the sorceress from the future just as much as Edea had. 

"Damn it," muttered Quistis. "I just don't understand why Seifer Almasy has become a scandal to be covered up or a bogeyman to be feared."

"What is your obsession with _him, _Quisty?"

Quistis cheeks took on a petal pink hue. "I'm not _obsessed._"

"Yes, you are," Selphie accused, "ever since you followed him to Timber you've mentioned him at least twice a day."

The flush spread its way over Quistis' pretty face. "I have _not!_"

"Yes-huh," said Selphie. "What _did _happen on that train, Quistis? There are all sorts of rumors still flying around about it."

"N-nothing," stuttered Quistis, doing her best to maintain her calm demeanor. "Thh-There has never been anything b-between me and Seifer Almasy! Really! I swear!" When Selphie said nothing and maintained her suspicious expression, Quistis hurriedly suggested, "Hey, why don't we find Irvine and get some lunch, I'm starved."

When Selphie reluctantly agreed, the two young women hurried off to find Selphie's boyfriend. 

~*~

Irvine wandered through Frederick's of Esthar searching for the perfect gift for Selphie. He wanted something perfect that would hopefully get the point across to her that he was ready to take their relationship to the next level. 

He meandered between the racks of lingerie examining what caught his eye, but unable to make a decision of what would look good on Selphie. As pretty as he thought Selphie was, Irvine just could not picture his tiny girlfriend in any of the items he found interesting.

"How may I help you?"

Irvine turned around to find himself looking into the cleavage of a very tall salesgirl. "Whoa." His eyes followed an imaginary line from the salesgirl's chest to her very blue eyes, which were obviously enhanced by colored contacts. She gave Irvine a red-painted smile and looked him up and down slowly.

"How may I help you?" the girl repeated, obviously pleased that Irvine found her attractive. 

"Uhhhh…" responded Irvine before erupting into a wave of nervous chuckles. Then, regaining his poise said, "Whoa… what was that?" –chuckle- "Is it hot in here?"

The girl winked at Irvine, coyly tossing her blonde curls. "Well, you have your coat on."

Irvine looked down at his body. "Whoa," he repeated, "so I do… how'd that happen?"

"Because it's cold outside," she told Irvine, thrusting back her shoulders to bring Irvine's attention back to her Phenomenon Bra-enhanced bust line.  

"Yeah," agreed Irvine, "it is a bit nipply –I mean nippy out." –nervous chuckle- "Nipples?" -chuckle- "What am I saying?"

Seeing that Irvine was perhaps a bit more innocent than she'd originally surmised, the girl decided to be a bit subtler in her flirtations. She didn't want his head to explode after all. Then, gesturing to the higher priced items that were hung near the ceiling, she said. "Can I take something down for you?"

Irvine looked at her chest again and began to laugh in a way that sounded more like a wheeze. The girl was becoming seriously alarmed. When he had first walked into the store the girl had thought this cowboy type was the kind of guy who knew how to handle girls like her. Now she saw that he was probably still a virgin since he obviously collapsed under the pressure. 

Feeling sorry for him, she asked sweetly, "Would you like me to model something for you?" 

"What?"

Without elaborating further, the salesgirl picked a few random items of lingerie and led Irvine into the back stockroom and pulled the curtain shut after giving a knowing wink to the other salesgirl on the floor. Selphie entered the store just then with Quistis in tow.

"Selphie," complained Quistis, "I thought we were looking for Irvine. I'm really hungry."

"We are! This'll only take a minute."

Quistis examined a red silk negligee, briefly wondering if Matt would like to see her in it. _What am I thinking? _She replaced the nightgown the to the rack in a huff. _Matt wants to wait until we are married. _She shuddered. How would she possible explain to someone as prudish as he that her first time had come and gone a while ago.

Quistis returned to Selphie, who was looking at a display of corsets. "You don't even wear this kind of stuff. What are we doing here?"

Before Selphie could answer a high-pitched giggle emerged from the direction of the stockroom. "Oh, you are so naughty!" the voice warbled.

Quistis and Selphie looked at each other with wide eyes. "Oh dear," murmured Quistis.

Selphie hurried to a nearby rack, which displayed several similar styles of baby doll nighties. Selecting a powder blue one in her size, Selphie held it up and asked, "Do you think Irvine will like this?" She winced and blushed redder as another squeal assaulted them.

"Yes, it's lovely," chirped Quistis.

"Great!"

Selphie was just signing the charge card receipt when the female voice cried out, "Oh Irvine! You are so silly! Do you really like it?"

Selphie stared at the curtain, a suspicious glaze covering her eyes as she absently looped the bag over Quistis' wrist. Realizing what was possible happening Quistis said, "Uh Selphie… maybe we should…"

"Oh yeah!" Irvine's voice rang out.

Puffing herself up as large as she could, Selphie marched over to the curtain and flung it aside. She crossed her arms tightly as she glowered at the scene before her. Irvine was sitting on a box with a large smile on his face while the pretty blonde salesgirl pranced before him in a leopard print teddy.

Irvine's smile fell as he made contact with Selphie's glare. Before he could react, Selphie screamed, "I hate you!" and ran out of the store. Quistis, almost as angry as Selphie, gave Irvine the dirtiest look she could muster and ran after her sobbing friend.

Finally coming to his senses, Irvine forgot all about the salesgirl and ran after Selphie. __

~*~

Luckily for Irvine while fruitlessly chasing after Quistis and Selphie, who were long gone, he had run into Matt, who was also involved in doing his holiday shopping. After Irvine explained to him what had happened between he and Selphie, Matt promised him a ride back to Garden, but explained he needed to go look at some items at 'Circuit Town.' Having nothing better to do at that point, Irvine decided to tag along with him.

Holding a pack of blank CDs, Matt stated, "I'm going to 'burn' Quissy a CD of all our favorite love songs as a holiday present."

"Oh, that's nice," Irvine replied distractedly, as he was currently checking out the blonde sales clerk on the other side of the store and wondering if he should make a move on her. He really needed to distract himself from his problems with Selphie. "What else are you going to give her?"

"What else?" Matt exclaimed. "Nothing else. I'm not made of money, you know."

This insensitive statement suddenly drew all of Irvine's attention. If fact, the longhaired cowboy stood stunned for a second. "Are you serious?" he asked incredulously.

When Matt nodded in the affirmative, Irvine responded, "Don't be such a chump. A woman as classy as Quistis deserves a lot more than that for the holidays."

"Well, if my fiancée is as classy as you say she is, she will certainly understand that I am living on an English instructor's salary and that I can't afford more than that right now," Matt answered in an supercilious tone. "Besides, the way your relationship stands presently, I don't understand how you can offer advice to other people concerning theirs."

This enraged the normally placid Irvine, who didn't want to say anything that would jeopardize his ride back to Garden. He muttered that he would meet Matt at the front of the store when they was ready to leave and stalked off. The young cowboy moved to the other side of the store where he decided his first impression of the sales clerk was correct and she was indeed a beauty. But right when he was ready to make his move, Irvine noticed Matt waiting in line at the front sales counter.

Hurrying up to him, Irvine couldn't help but notice that Matt had a number of expensive computer games in his hand. Matt saw that Irvine was staring at his potential purchases and exclaimed, "I'm so lucky. I've been waiting and waiting for these games to come out and they have all five of them here."

Irvine just stood and stared. He didn't know how to respond to such hypocrisy. _Man_, _Quistis sure has herself a winner here_, he thought sarcastically. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep," Matt answered, "Just as soon as I pay for these."

"Okay, I'll wait out front," Irvine said, suddenly feeling the need to get away before he said something that would cause him to have to walk back to Garden.  


	4. Monday, December the fourth

Disclaimer: Square owns the game and it's characters. The song "It's Not Easy Being Green" is owned by Kermit the Frog, or whoever wrote it for the cute little guy. The weird lines were written by W. Shakespeare.

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Four

Monday, December the Fourth

On early Monday morning, Squall was busy as usual at his desk. He was in a particular hurry this morning, because he wanted to get a considerable amount of his desk cleared of paperwork before he was to report to morning staff meeting at 0900 hours. Consequently, he was more than a little put out when a knock came upon his door at that early hour, but when he arose at his customary time at 0530 he had vowed to keep a more positive frame of mind during the upcoming day.

"Who is it?" he answered in a neutral tone.

"It's me – Rinoa."

_Oh Hyne_, _what_'_s she doing up so early_? _Well_, _this will be a good test for me_, the commander thought. "Come in, the door's open." 

Rinoa bounced into his office and despite the early hour she looked as chipper as ever, maybe even more so. "Good morning, dear," she gushed, a broad smile enveloping her features.

_You know if her smile got any bigger_, _she would look just like a giant chipmunk_, the normally taciturn man thought. Suddenly visualizing Rinoa as a giant chipmunk, but still wearing her outfit and having long black hair brought a smile to the commander's usually tight lips.

"It's so good to see you smiling again," said the cheerful sorceress. "So what's-."

"Rinoa, excuse me, I need to say something," Squall interrupted. "I just want to apologize for the way I've been acting the last few days. I hope you realize that it has nothing to do with you. It's just the pressure of this job and I really don't care for the holidays much, but I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean any of the things I might have said to you."

Hurrying to where he was sitting she leaned down and pulled Squall into a large embrace. "Of course I knew you didn't mean it," she cooed, "But it is still good to hear you say you didn't. I love you so-."

It was here that disaster struck. Rinoa happened to gaze at the trashcan where her holiday wreath still rested. "Ah-oooh-eee!" Rinoa screamed. It was a sound similar to one a dolphin might make if it witnessed a tragic accident and the vibrations from the screech shattered the glass atop his desk.

Squall realized immediately that Rinoa had seen the wreath. _Oh crap_! _I told them to make sure and empty my wastebasket_. Squall made a feeble attempt to calm the young sorceress. "Now Rinny, don't be upset. I told you the other day I wasn't going to hang that on my door."

The commander recognized that it was a case of too little too late as the furious young woman had already Angel Winged and was floating near the ceiling of his office. Squall quickly picked up the phone and dialed the number for the intercom connection. "Angel Alert team to Commander Leonhart's office," he ordered. "I repeat, Angel Alert team to Commander Leonhart's office! On the double!"

"Oof!" Squall was struck by a random magic spell hurtling down from his girlfriend. It felt especially cold and nasty to him and when he glanced down at himself, he discovered he was green. "Damn it! She hit me with zombie," he said aloud.

The commander had no reflect magic with him. In fact he wasn't junctioned for magic at all since he was just expecting light office duty this early in the morning. Squall only junctioned GFs when he was to leave the Garden since he'd decided he didn't like sharing his consciousness twenty-four hours a day. He spent the rest of the time until the Angel Alert team arrived dodging Rinoa's spells since if she managed to hit him with any kind of curative magic it could possibly kill him.

The door burst open and three young well-conditioned male SeeDs entered carrying a large round trampoline. Following closely behind was Dr. Kadowaki. They set the trampoline on the floor directly beneath the young sorceress and began to jump on it until one of them was driven high enough to grasp Rinoa by the waist and bring her down to the floor. The doctor immediately hit her with a shot of sedative. It was then that the SeeDs and Doctor Kadowaki realized the Squall was not chanting as they originally had thought, but was singing, slightly off key, the following song:

_It_'_s not that easy being green_;

_Having to spend each day the color of the leaves_.

_When I think it could be nicer being red_, _or yellow or gold_.

_Or something much more colorful like that_.

_It_'_s not easy being green_.

_It seems you blend in with so many other ord_'_nary things_.

_And people tend to pass you over _'_cause you_'_re_

_Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water_

_Or stars in the sky_.

_But green_'_s the color of spring_.

_And green can be cool and friendly_-_like_.

And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain 

_Or tall like a tree_.

_When green is all there is to be_

_It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why_?

_Wonder, I am green and it_'_ll do fine_, _it_'_s beautiful_!

_And I think it_'_s what I want to be_.

~*~

Selphie had already arisen for the day despite the early hour when a knock came on her door. "Who is it?" she called out, surprised that anyone would be knocking at her chamber door that early.

"It's me – Irvine," quoted the longhaired cowboy.

"Go away and don't darken my door – nevermore," was her answer.

"Oh come on Sefie," Irvine pleaded. "It was all a terrible mistake."

"Yeah right, Irvine," Selphie replied sarcastically. "And the mistake was me ever having anything to do with you in the first place."

"Selphie, your Irvy got you a present. Something you will really like."

Curiosity and a certain amount of greed overrode the young SeeD's better judgment and she opened the door. "Now, that's better," declared her would-be amour. "Here," Irvine said as he handed her a bouquet of yellow roses from behind his back.

"Oh Irvy!" the delighted young SeeD squealed. "My favorite!"

She snatched the flowers from his hand and a card fell out on to the floor. Selphie bent down and picked it up to read aloud, "_To Sophia, with all my love, your secret admirer."_

"Irvine!" Selphie screeched, as she lifted the bouquet of roses far above her head and then began crashing them down at Irvine repeatedly, petals and leaves flying like soiled snow around them.

"Ow! Hold on, Selphie! There must be some mistake!"

"I'll say! And you made it!" Selphie shouted. "You got your wires crossed and sent your flowers to the wrong people. Who's Sophia? That hussy salesclerk from Frederick's?"

All the while Selphie continued to slam the longhaired cowboy with the flowers. Most of the petals had already fallen away to the floor. Irvine was attempting to protect himself by throwing his arms up around his head.

"Ow Selphie! You're scratching me with the thorns!" he complained.

"Well! I'd have to say that that was the idea," she declared. "Now be gone from my room!"

"Not until you listen to me," Irvine insisted. "The florist must have made a mistake."

Recognizing that battering him was not going to turn the trick, Selphie dropped the now totally ruined flowers at her feet and pushed Irvine out into the hallway. A second later the door was slammed in his face. 

He wondered who Sophia was and if there were any way to find out. _Might as well not waste the opportunity since I sent her roses_, he mused. Then Irvine shook his head as a moment of sense cleared his mind. _What am I saying? I love Selphie!_  He wandered off to his room thinking of ways to win Selphie back.

When Selphie was sure that Irvine had gone she went for a walk to relax. Staying in her room would only lead to negative thinking and she couldn't afford to do that if she was going to succeed in making this the best holiday season in the history of SeeD. Deciding to find Rinoa to discuss some ideas she had for decorating, Selphie went off in search of the young sorceress.

Selphie was waylaid a few times as she was told of the newest gossip. When she heard news of Rinoa acting strangely, Selphie ran as fast as she could to the library, which was the last place her friend had been sighted. 

As soon as Selphie raced into the library, Nicole, who was on duty, exclaimed, "Oh, thank Hyne you're here! Rinoa's in the back room causing a disturbance and I can't seem to calm her down." The pretty librarian was tugging on her pigtail fretfully.

Selphie assured her she would try to help and hurried into the next room where she was shocked and also very embarrassed for Rinoa for the sorceress was dressed only in a white gown and was standing on one of the tables apparently pontificating to a small group of upperclassmen and SeeDs.

Rinoa declared, "How should I your true-love know from another one? By his cockle hat and staff and his sandal shoon."

_What in the heck is she talking about_? Selphie wondered. "Rinoa! Rinoa, let me help you down from there," Selphie suggested while forcing herself through the group to the edge of the table.

For a second the ebony-haired woman appeared to recognize her friend as she reached down for her with her hand, but then her eyes glazed over again. "Be cautious of typhoons, hurricanes, clouds, and squalls or they will hinder you," Rinoa intoned.

"Rinoa, come with me," Selphie directed. She grasped the young sorceress by the hand tightly and led her down from the table to the floor by first having her step onto a chair. "Okay, show's over," she cynically explained to the group of gawkers as she led Rinoa from the room and then the library in its entirety.

Unfortunately the further Selphie led the ebony-haired woman away from the library, the more she was forced to drag her as Rinoa was beginning to resist more and more. By the time the pair had reached the main atrium, Rinoa had broken away entirely and literally flung herself into the fountain.

"Larded all with sweet flowers; which bewept to the grave did not go with true-love showers," the young sorceress sang as she floundered in the shallow water.

Selphie became frightened of Rinoa's very life at this point because she appeared so out of control and was very relieved when Nicole came running up. She had trailed the pair from the library in order to lend assistance if the situation arose.

"What's going on, Selphie?" Nicole asked in a slightly hysterical tone.

"We have to get her out of the fountain immediately before she hurts herself," Selphie said. "Here, hold my left hand." She leaned far over the wall in an attempt to reach the splashing sorceress. She was fortunate enough to be able to grasp Rinoa by the arm and once she had her she was determined to not let her go no matter how she struggled.

At that point Rinoa was led willing from the fountain. _Maybe her adrenaline is wearing off_, Selphie hoped. "Help me get her down to her room," Selphie suggested.

On the way to her room, Rinoa remained in a trance-like stupor, which Selphie was extremely grateful for. It afforded her the opportunity to contact the doctor via her cell phone. Doctor Kadowaki assured the energetic SeeD that she would meet them in Rinoa's room as soon as possible.

Once they reached the young sorceress' room, Selphie was able to lay Rinoa down on her bed. She felt uncomfortable with removing her friend's clothes even though they were soaked through so she compromised with wrapping her in a layer of blankets, as Rinoa appeared to be shivering slightly.

As soon the doctor entered Rinoa's room with two of her nurses, Selphie and Nicole discreetly departed but not before informing the medical staff they would wait out in the hall. While Selphie and Nicole waited impatiently outside their friend's dorm room, Quistis, and Zell soon joined them. 

"Did you all hear what happened when Rinoa found the wreath she gave Squall to hang on his door in the trash can?" Selphie asked the rest of the group.

"No, what happened?" asked Zell, munching on a granola bar.

"She started Angel Winging and it took the Angel Alert team to get her down, but she still managed to hit Squall with zombie," the brown haired SeeD explained. "But that isn't the half of it," Selphie continued. "Rinoa had been wandering the halls since then dressed only in a white gown when I found her. And if you try to talk to her she only mutters things about typhoons, clouds, hurricanes, and squalls when she's not speaking in some weird accent."

"We had to stop her from drowning herself in the fountain," Nicole added in a sorrowful voice.

"Oh no!" Quistis gasped while holding her right hand up to her mouth. "I can't believe Squall let things get this bad between them!"

"And what's worse," noted Selphie, "is that no one seems to have the antidote for zombie anywhere!" 

"Not even magical?" asked Nicole. "I mean... I know there is a major Holy Water shortage and all…"

Selphie shook her head. "There was something different about Rinoa's spells this time," she explained, "they can't be cured with magic!"

"Man, that sucks," muttered Zell. "As if Squall hasn't been miserable enough."

"Yes," agreed Quistis, "and according to the text books it may take a week for Squall to go back to normal."

"Hey, look at the time!" Zell said suddenly, "I need to get back to my fighting group." Since the war, Zell had been acting as a tutor for Martial Arts students as a way to make extra money when he wasn't on a mission. It could also help him get his instructor's license should he choose to pursue the idea.

"Yeah, I have to get back to my class, too," said Quistis. " Tomorrow I'm going to look up Xu and see if we can help Rinoa."

"Great! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," replied Selphie. "Nicole and I are gonna stay here until we can see Rinny."

The group said their goodbyes and Zell and Quistis went back to their classes.

~*~

Seifer stood gloating over a crate of softly glowing glass vials. "This is it," he told Nida, who knelt on the concrete floor examining the ampoules marked _Elixir, Holy Water _and _Remedy. _The former pilot of Balamb Garden looked up at Seifer with a satisfied smile.

"Are you sure this is all of it?" asked Nida.

Seifer glared at Nida. "I just said it was," he said defensively.

Nida nodded. "Wonderful!" he said gleefully. "Those idiots will be so desperate for these things with Rinoa acting like a nut they'll pay whatever I ask. I'll be rich!"

"You will?"

"Er- I mean _we_ of course," answered Nida quickly.

Seifer nodded slowly, suspicion evident on his handsome face. "Of course."

Nida picked up the crate and smiled. "You'll get your cut as soon as I sell it."

"Fine," said Seifer, "and be sure you don't rip me off."

"Would I do that?" asked Nida, trying to look as innocent as he could. Seifer gave Nida a look filled with ire before turning to return to his hideout.


	5. Tuesday, December the fifth

Disclaimer: W. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet… we are simply stealing a few lines. As always, Square owns the characters and places.

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Five

Tuesday, December the Fifth

The midnight shift crew that was made up of a few SeeDs and graduate upperclassmen (who were currently waiting to take their field exam) were completely flabbergasted when 0700 reveille came blasting out of the loud speakers throughout the entire Garden at 0300 hours. It was best summed up and most succinctly put by Thonas, the tall blond shift commander, when he exclaimed, "What the hell is going on?"

Dorm room doors were flying open and both SeeDs and students were tumbling out into the halls in various stages of dress, including not much at all, but all had their weapons poised. The very first lessons learned at Garden was to obey all orders no matter how asinine and to always be prepared for a sneak middle of the night attack; the very time that the Garden would be most vulnerable.

In fact, drills of this sort were run at least once monthly and sometimes more frequently so no one knew that this wasn't a real drill except for Squall. Although the midnight shift SeeDs found it strange that no word had been passed to them as it usually was, no one said anything. 

As the young men and women fell in their required ranks, there was naturally some eye cutting and sniggering going on at the strange sleep attire of certain individuals. This activity immediately ceased when Commander Leonhart strode angrily into the atrium.

He was wearing only his black leathers and carrying his gunblade. Squall's body was covered in green from hair to toe, but it certainly hadn't decreased the attractiveness of his upper physique a recently transferred SeeD from Trabia Garden named Andrea decided. She was a young protégé of Selphie's and had transferred at the suggestion of the Garden festival chair. 

Andrea was extremely pretty, stood around five foot, four and had long dark hair. In fact, she had won the secret Rinoa look-a-like contest and had won one of the autographed photos of Squall that Garden's PR department handed out by the hundreds.

Even from the rather far away position where Seifer hid observing his own handiwork, he was delighted to observe that despite Squall's green complexion, his rival was clearly flushed with anger. Seifer's gloating was swiftly replaced with chagrin as he watched Squall take easy control of the situation. 

"Attention!" the commander barked. "Roll call – quickly!"

After everyone was accounted for, Squall ordered, "At ease! Now you all did a good job, secure to quarters."

Everyone present hurried helter-skelter back to their rooms as rapidly as possible to quickly get back to sleep as well as remove themselves from the presence of their green commander before they laughed. As Squall watched them depart he realized that he was the only one who didn't know it wasn't a regularly scheduled drill. He certainly was never going to tell anyone, but it didn't stop him from pondering the strange current events of Garden. 

_First Rinoa_, _now this_.

Seifer angrily disappeared into the hidden passageway in the wall before he was seen. _So Commander Puberty won this round_, _well this is the just the beginning of the tricks I_'_m pulling today_.

In the chaos, no one had thought to check on Rinoa who had awakened alone in the infirmary. Her sitter, having thought it was safe to leave the sedated girl alone, had gone to the bathroom. Still disoriented, the pretty sorceress donned in another of her white nightgowns had slipped into the darkness of Garden, which was just then settling down again until the real morning wakeup.

When Dr. Kadowaki's assistant, Brianna, returned from the bathroom she was horrified to discover that Rinoa was gone. Fearful of losing her job, the plump medical assistant went off to search for her charge.

~*~

Quistis tapped her fingers impatiently on her desk. Since she'd heard news of Rinoa's disappearance, Quistis had been trying to complete her tasks quickly so she could aid in the hunt. She was seriously concerned that Rinoa had not yet been found. There were too many places for Rinoa to get into serious trouble within Garden, if she was still on the grounds that is…  
  
But now Quistis was stuck in her classroom waiting for a group of young women with some problem. Young women always seemed to have problems and for some reason, much to Quistis' frustration, they always came to her.  
  
Just as the small group entered through the sliding door, Xu's calm voice announced over the intercom. "Mike Hunt… please report to the infirmary… I repeat, Mike Hunt to the infirmary for your medical exam."  
  
Quistis tried to maintain a straight face. However, between the uproarious laughter of the students and SeeDs before her and the knowledge that Xu had been taken in by one of the oldest pranks, Quistis lost it. It was many minutes before the laughter finally died down.  
  
"Well, look at what mine said," Reba declared handing a piece of paper to her good friend, Shana. It appeared to the blonde Instructor to be a hard copy of something printed from a computer.  
  
Shana read aloud. "You are really a hottie, girl. But I would really like to meet U or at least get a pic of U naked. Don't take me wrong, that pic of U in your bra and panties is great too! Secret Admirer #819"  
  
"That's nothing," Shana insisted. "Look at mine." She held out a copy of an email to her friend.  
  
"May I see that?" Quistis asked. Shana shyly handed the printout to Quistis. The SeeD-in-training's face blushed a deep red. Shana's flush was almost as deep a red as Quistis' own. "Oh my," was all Quistis could mutter.  
  
The young women gathered around trying to read over Quistis' shoulder. Shaking her head in confusion, Quistis asked, "How long have you ladies been getting these emails?"  
  
Reba was the first to speak. "I got my first about a month ago. I thought it was a joke until they started coming regularly and then I found out I wasn't the only one."  
  
Linnea, one of Quistis' own students, said, "I think Reba was the first. I didn't get anything until two nights ago."  
  
Quistis looked around at all the young faces imploring her to help and she was suddenly filled with a sense of duty. Doing her best to seem optimistic, Quistis opened her mouth to speak but closed it again when her eyes fell upon the manliest young woman she had ever seen.  
  
The female upperclassman appeared to be at least six foot, one inch tall and that was in her flats! She had long red hair that must have been a wig Quistis decided, because it didn't seem to match with the girl's complexion at all. The blonde instructor decided to speak with the mysterious young woman, because she didn't remember ever seeing her before. What's worse, the woman had extremely hairy legs.

_She must be from Trabia, _Quistis thought. It was very fashionable in Trabia for women to not shave body hair. Still, the redhead's presence confused Quistis. The instructor had a hard time believing that anyone would send this student sexually harassing emails.  
  
"Excuse me," Quistis began. The young woman in question met Quistis gaze defiantly, smiled impishly and dared to wink her left eye at Quistis. As Quistis looked on completely bewildered by this time, the female student suddenly pressed some kind of large red button she was holding in her right hand.  
  
**_BLAM!_**

The trash can beside the Instructor's desk exploded showering tiny pieces of paper and other trash that had been deposited therein all over the room. The other young women in the classroom jumped in surprise and fright. Several of them had dived onto the classroom floor.  
  
The mysterious student turned and walked quickly toward the door. "Wait!" Quistis cried out. The strange female turned, smiled at her once more and then was gone. There was something about the way the woman walked that told Quistis that perhaps 'she' wasn't a 'she' at all. 

_It couldn't be…  _thought Quistis_._  
  
  


~*~

After Quistis' class had ended and she had calmed down the more hysterical girls, she was officially finished with her instructor duties for the day. She enlisted Xu's help as she had promised Selphie and they proceeded to begin the search for Rinoa. Quistis had been quite horrified to learn that Rinoa had managed to flee from the infirmary during the confusion of the early wakeup. She was initially surprised to realize that the fact of Rinoa missing had not been reported over the intercom and then realized how embarrassing that would have proven to Squall to have it announced to the entire Garden that his girlfriend had gone crazy and was wandering somewhere unknown.

After a thorough search of the interior of the Garden, Quistis and Xu finally located Rinoa, who had just been saved from attempting to drown herself in one of the outdoor fountains. She had remained attired in a gauzy negligee, now soaked, through which her body was visible. Even for Rinoa, she was drawing strange looks from SeeDs and students alike, many of which were young men only present for a cheap thrill. The two women led the young sorceress to Quistis' room.

_Well_, _she certainly seems pliant enough_, Quistis thought as she sat Rinoa in a chair and wrapped the sorceress in her own pink robe.

"Rinoa, what's wrong?" Xu asked, as usual cutting through directly to the heart of the matter.

Rinoa replied quite dreamily, "Well, God reward you! They say the owl was a baker's daughter. We know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be at your table!"

"Rinoa, we're here to help you," Quistis responded, taking her turn.

The sorceress asked, "Say you?"

What is she talking about?" the blonde instructor asked.

Rinoa retorted, as if in answer, "Pray you mark."

"I have no idea," Xu admitted ruefully. After a few seconds had passed, she exclaimed, "Wait a minute...what was the name of the play that they put on during the summer Garden Festival?"

"Hamlet, I think, and if I can remember what we had for breakfast that morning, I'll die a happy woman," answered Quistis sarcastically.

Ignoring her friend's capriciousness, Xu continued. "And what part did Rinoa play?"

"Ophelia," the blonde woman said bitterly. Quistis had coveted the role for herself.

"What?" asked Rinoa.

A sudden insight went roaring through Quistis' consciousness like a runaway train. Rinoa thought she was Ophelia!

Quistis quickly responded, "Rinoa, Hamlet loves you."

"What?" the young sorceress answered sharply.

"I said Hamlet loves you," repeated the instructor.

"Quistis, what in the world are you talking about?" Rinoa inquired disdainfully.

Xu exclaimed, "Rinoa, you're back!"

"Back? What do you mean – back?" the young woman asked sounding confused. "Where am I?" she asked glancing around Quistis' room and then down at herself and pulled open the robe. "Why am I wearing my nightgown? Oh Shiva! I'm all wet!" Rinoa attempted to cover herself chastely. "Have I been sick?"

"You could say that," Quistis replied dryly. "For the past day you misplaced your mind."

"Oh I remember now," the dark-haired woman recounted slowly. "Squall threw my wreath away. Well okay for him. I don't need Mr. Squall Leonhart. I'm gonna make this the best darn holiday season that's ever been!" Rinoa vowed.

~*~

(A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews. We hope you continue to enjoy this fic as it reaches its dramatic and heartwarming conclusion. Hehe…)


	6. Wednesday, December the sixth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Six

Wednesday, December the Sixth

"Okay," Selphie declared at the end of a very long winter festival planning committee meeting. She had called this extra meeting because of Zell's domination of the last one and she wanted to make sure everyone was fulfilling his or her subcommittee agendas. "I think that should do it for today. I think you all have done a great job so far and everybody should give themselves a big round of applause. Let's hear it!" she shouted out exuberantly while clapping her hands in an exaggerated fashion.

Most of the people seated in front of her squirmed uncomfortably for the umpteenth time in their metal folding chairs and half-heartedly followed the energetic SeeD's example. It wasn't that they were lacking in spirit, they were just so emotionally and physically spent from the long meeting.

"Alright!" Selphie shouted out, totally ignoring the scene that lay before her. "Now I have a big surprise for you because of your hard work!"

"You're throwing us a keg party!" called out a deep male voice from the very back of the Quad.

Selphie appeared slightly perturbed when she responded, "No, that's not it. Who said that?"

Quistis turned her head quickly, recognizing Seifer's voice, but she couldn't see anybody in the back who resembled him in the slightest way. Quistis realized immediately that he had managed to vanish again. _What is his secret_? Quistis thought, wondering how he could disappear so quickly.

"The fairies have left us a surprise," Selphie explained.

"Well, I'm not cleaning up all that fairy poop this time, Selphie," joked Zell.

The room exploded into laughter, most people just happy for some comedy relief after the tense meeting. Nicole, sitting beside Zell as usual, made a token slap at his arm in protest but was smiling at his comment.

Selphie stood in frustration with her hands on her hips. "Zell! You know that isn't what I meant. It's snowed since we've been in here. As a special reward for our hard work, we can go out and build snowmen and a contest will be held tomorrow and prizes will be awarded to the best ones."

Rinoa jumped up from her chair. "Oh that's great!" she exclaimed. "We can decorate the snowmen with Winter Festival decorations." Outfitted in a bright green satin miniskirt and a red sequined blouse that bared her midriff, Rinoa cut an odd figure to say the least. She had managed to somehow paste a shiny glass tree ornament into her navel. Knee high red and green boots encased her legs, and large snowflake ornament earrings dangled from her ears. The most eye-catching part of her look was her hair. Rinoa had twisted and lacquered her hair into a two-foot beehive with silver tinsel twisted into it.

Quistis smirked to herself at the sight of the young sorceress. _I think I liked her better as Ophelia_, she thought.

"Well, Rinoa," Selphie replied slowly not quite sure how to answer her friend who was attired so strangely. "Everyone is free to make their snowmen the way they want. Now everyone go to their rooms and dress warmly and I'll meet you outside."

Everyone broke hurriedly from the Quad, eternally grateful to finally be released from the meeting. When Matt suddenly appeared at Quistis' side she felt a sudden sinking in her heart. For some reason not easily identified by her, she had been hoping to escape the area without having to talk to him right then.

"Wow!" her boyfriend exclaimed. "That was a great meeting, wasn't it? We really got a lot accomplished."

"Um...I guess," she muttered.

"Quissy, what's wrong?" he asked.

_Well_, _for one thing you keep calling me Quissy_. "I'm just a little tired, I guess," Quistis answered. "I think I want to go lie down for awhile."

"What?" Matt asked excitedly. "Aren't you going outside? I thought we would build a snowman together."

"Oh, I don't know Matt, I'm really tired."

As Quistis turned to walk away, Matt hurried to keep up with her. "It's me, isn't it? You're angry at me over something."

"No," she answered unable to keep the weariness from her voice. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you didn't save me a seat beside you the way you usually do."

Quistis did feel an instant pang of guilt because she had forgotten about saving him a place beside her. "Well...I wasn't sure if you were coming or not," she said attempting to offer an excuse.

"Oh, come on, I told you at breakfast that I would be there and to save me a seat," he accused.

When Quistis didn't respond, Matt continued, "You probably weren't listening because you were thinking about that Seifer fellow."

"What?" 

"I've heard around the Garden that you're so hot after this guy that you insist he's here somewhere," her boyfriend replied.

"Oh that's ridiculous!" snapped Quistis, rolling her eyes. 

"Well, why else would you be insisting those rumors were true?" Matt's expression suddenly softened. "Unless…" He thought for a moment then very softly asked, "You aren't smoking Gysahl Greens are you, Quissy?"

Before Quistis could react in frustration, Selphie came bounding up, as was her wont. "Hey, you all! Quit lagging and let's get outside and build those snowmen. Where's your holiday spirit?"

The angry stares that she was offered by both Quistis and Matt managed to penetrate even Selphie's normally distorted view of reality. She flushed and apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Well, I'll see you outside," She scampered away down the corridor.

Matt said nothing further, but instead just walked down the corridor slightly ahead of his ladyfriend. He wore that pouting expression that Quistis realized promised no good between them for the next few days. Taking him by the arm, she stopped him from walking and said, "I apologize, I did forget. I was preoccupied with some serious problems that some of my students are experiencing with inappropriate emails. I would be happy to go out and build a snowman with you."

Matt's handsome features broke into a wreath of happiness. "Alright!" he said. Taking Quistis by the hand he lead her quickly down the corridor.

"Wait!" Quistis protested. "I need to go to my room and get my winter coat."

"No, you're fine," her boyfriend said. "You've got warm clothes on. If we wait any longer all the snow will be gone." 

Quistis allowed Matt to lead her outdoors even though she knew that with the sub-zero temperatures there would be no way the snow would melt that quickly.

                                                                        ~*~

There were still light snow flurries blowing around when Quistis and Matt exited the Garden. There were over a hundred SeeDs and upperclassmen busily involved in snowman building. Quistis realized with a shock that Rinoa had somehow recruited a small army of followers. The sorceress was commanding over twenty people who apparently had already built a half of dozen snowmen and women.

The instructor stood astonished, wondering where Rinoa had acquired all the clothing that was now appareling the snow people. Given her current frame of mind Rinoa wasn't content with this and was already further decorating them with holiday decorations, such as wreaths and garlands.

"Come on, Quissy! Let's get to work!"

Matt's command cut unpleasantly across her consciousness like the angry whine of a 500 cc Kawasaki. Matt was maniacally rolling up a huge globe of snow for the base of the snowman directly in front of Quistis.

"Quissy, find us something to use for eyes," he directed.

_Now where am I going to find that_? she wondered as the frozen ground was completely blanketed with snow. As the blonde woman glanced around, she was amazed to observe that Selphie was only attired in her usual yellow dress. Wandering in that direction in her search, she called out, "Selphie, aren't you cold?"

The energetic SeeD answered while performing a short jump. "Booyaka! Of course not, the cold is all in your mind."

_All in my mind_? _Hyne save me_. _It's all in my mind and every other part of my body too_.

By the time Quistis had given up her search, everyone else on the frozen tundra had finished their tasks. There were snowwomen and men decorating the ground in front of the Garden. Rinoa had now put the finishing touches on her platoon of snow people by adding electric lights to them! There were extension cords trailing from the Garden lying all around.

Quistis was unable to control her sudden irritation and frustration with the bizarre behavior of her friend. "Hey Rinoa! What are you thinking about? Does Cid know you're wasting power like this?"

Rinoa turned and waved. "Don't be such a Scrooge. Winterfest only comes once a year, you know."

Selphie suddenly appeared by the instructor's side. "Quisty," she murmured. "Be nice, remember she's just had a traumatic experience and she's heartbroken over Squall."

Quistis could only nod numbly because there was no possible response to such an entreaty plus her teeth were chattering from the extreme cold. She returned to Matt who was putting the finishing touches on their snowman – a perfect replica of himself! The snowman had a large rock for a nose and a corncob pipe where his mouth should have been. _Hyne only knows where he got that_, she thought.

The blonde woman was expecting that her boyfriend would notice her obvious teeth chattering and offer his warm coat that he had worn to the meeting. All he did though was ask, "Did you get the eyes?"

Quistis was suddenly so furious with the callousness of her boyfriend that she could have plucked his eyes out for the assignment. Instead she reached down and popped two buttons off her blouse and jammed them into his outstretched hand. Quistis then stalked off into the Garden.

"Hey thanks, see you for dinner," Matt called out behind her.  

~*~

Cid sat at his desk perusing Garden's latest annual contract with the City of Balamb. A new one traditionally went into effect at the beginning of each new year. It was just a standard 'commitment to protect' contract relating to any and all security problems, attack from foreign powers, etc., but it always provided Garden with income and it always behooved them to remain on friendly terms with what was basically their sister city. The total population of the Garden was larger than many small villages.

He was concentrating on the small print that the Balamb City Attorneys had added this year, when he was vaguely surprised to heard his cell phone trill with its customary cock-a-doodle-do. (Cid was nothing if he wasn't basically a very tacky individual.) He became alert when he realized his cell phone was only called in emergencies and snatched it off his waist.

Turning it on, Cid held it up by his left ear. "Yes?" 

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but we have a situation here," twanged an adenoidal voice.

Moving his phone slightly further his ear, Cid directed, "You don't have to yell. This isn't two cans connected by a piece of string. I can hear you just fine."

"Sorry, sir," the male upperclassman replied. Continuing in a lower tone, he still spoke excitedly. "Sir, we have a rather large problem down here."

"Well, what is it?" Cid asked with annoyance, wondering why the student refused to come to the point. _I hope we're not under attack. By the time this kid tells me_, _we_'_ll have to surrender_.

"Sir, we have a delivery man down here trying to deliver fifteen hundred pizzas," the upperclassman finally explained.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" Cid shouted into the phone.

"I said he says we ordered fifteen hundred pizzas. We didn't, did we sir?"

"No, of course not. Of all the ridiculous...tell him we refuse delivery," the Headmaster demanded.

Cid listened intently through his cell phone at the increasingly louder and louder muffled voices until the young guard came back on line. "Sir," he said, "he says if we don't accept the pizzas he would have to report us to Balamb's Better Business Bureau, which would mean no company in Balamb would have further truck with us until this matter is straightened out. He's also threatening to go to the City Council for some kind of relief, sir."

Cid emitted a large sigh while he still continued to hold the new contract with Balamb in his other hand. After approving the purchase and telling the SeeD to have the pizzas delivered to the cafeteria, he reached for his desk phone. Cid dialed the number to the cafeteria extension and ordered that dinner would be free for anyone who wanted pizza that night. With that done, the headmaster slumped in his chair and began to rub his temples. 

_I hope Edea gets back soon, _he thought. His wife was away on her White SeeD ship for a few weeks and it seemed to him that utter chaos followed whenever Edea went away for too long. He'd just gotten his fledgling headache under control when his cell phone crowed at him again._ Now what?_

"Sir, this is Matt," came a voice barely discernable over the yelling in the background.

"Who?"

"Matt Rhechworthy, English instructor? Quistis boyfriend?" said the voice. 

_Quistis has a new boyfriend? _"Yes, Matt," said Cid. _Am I expected to know the name of every instructor here? _"What can I do for you?"

"Well, sir, we have an emergency!"

"Another one?"

"Yes, well, when it rains it pours!" Matt said blithely as if he knew about the other incident.

Cid waited expectantly for this Matt person to explain what the trouble was. When Matt said nothing, Cid demanded, "Well? What's the problem?"

"Oh yes… well, um… it appears that someone clogged up all the drains in the communal shower rooms and bombed the toilets. The hallways are flooding." Matt sounded more like he was discussing the weather rather than reporting a dire emergency.

After giving Matt instructions on how to shut off the water main, Cid hung up and called Balamb Plumbing.

_Please come home soon, Edea, _the aging headmaster mentally called to his wife as he rested his head on his desk.


	7. Thursday, December the seventh

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Seven

Thursday, December the Seventh

Morning dawned bright and clear, the sun's light causing the previous day's snow to sparkle like shattered glass on the side of a highway. The snowman judging committee, consisting of Thelma the lunch lady, Bruno the maintenance man, and Cid's secretary Constance walked out the main entrance of Garden to where the army of snow people awaited their inspection. Selphie and the rest of the entrants followed closely behind, each hoping that his or her snowman would win. First prize was a gift certificate to The Hampton, Timber's finest restaurant. It wasn't that any of them coveted the prize so much as the honor of winning the contest. 

Silence fell over the group as it reached the site of the snowman contest. No one knew what to say or do as they all looked at the scene of vandalism. 

"Oh dear Hyne," murmured Quistis, "Seifer's been here."

"Shut up Quistis!" snapped Selphie as she ran over to what had been her creation. Instead of a dancing snow moomba, Selphie's snow sculpture had been altered to appear to be doing something obscene with one of Rinoa's snowmen that resembled Zell right down to the hair and facial tattoo.

"Don't tell me to shut up, Selphie!" retorted Quistis. "It's not my fault none of you will recognize the truth."

Selphie turned to Quistis with her hands on her hips. "Right Quistis, Seifer is living in the walls of Garden. Next you'll be trying to convince us that the world is square!"

"You mean, it isn't?" asked Rinoa.

Quistis and Selphie both turned to the sorceress and yelled in unison, "Shut up!"

Rinoa glared at them for a moment, crossed her arms and gave her back to the entire group. She counted backwards from ten to one several times before becoming distracted by the glint of the sunlight on the snow. _Oh how pretty, _she thought.

Selphie and Quistis continued to bicker as the other entrants examined the lewd positions their snow people had been put into. A few of the girls, like Nicole, began to cry. Most of them however, began to snicker.

Matt's loud voice interrupted everyone when he said, "Well, at least my snowman is untouched!"

Quistis raised an eyebrow at him. From her position she could see what Matt couldn't. Pointing to the back of the snowman Quistis said, "Ummm… Matt, you'd better look at the back."

"Holy Shiva!" Matt cried out when he saw a very large carrot invading his snowman as no snowman should ever be invaded. "Why mine? Why? It was the best one here!"

"What?" screeched Selphie, scooping up a handful of snow. "How dare you!" The snowball Selphie had made hit Matt squarely on the side of the head.

From there things only deteriorated further. Matt threw a snowball at Selphie who ducked, and it instead hit Rinoa. Rinoa retaliated, but having terrible aim, hit another person. Before anyone else knew what was happening the ruined contest was forgotten and the group spent the next hour laughing and pelting each other with snowballs.

"Damn it," said Seifer angrily as he walked away from the scene. The prank hadn't the outcome he'd been hoping for. He was going to have to come up with a new plan soon.

~*~

"What you got there, ya know?" Raijin asked.

Seifer, who was standing with his comrade-in arms down in the MD level, was holding a large paper cup that used to hold a quart of a popular soda. He didn't answer but instead he partially opened it and held it up under his large friend's nose.

"Ewww!" Raijin complained. "That smells like sh-."

"RAGE!" protested Fujin.

"Bingo!" Seifer grinned. After the failure of the morning's prank, Seifer needed something to cheer himself up. 

"What are you gonna do with that, Seifer? That stinks, ya know?" questioned Raijin, sitting down on the table they'd pilfered from the cafeteria.

"It's an early solstice gift for one Chicken Wuss," said Seifer cheerfully.

"WHY?" asked Fujin, a worried expression crossing her face.

"Well, you know what they say," said Seifer. "Sweets for the sweet. Mwahaha!"

"Ya know, Seifer," Raijin declared, "I'm beginning to worry about you, ya know."

Fujin kicked Raijin sharply in the shin. "Ow! What'd you do that for? It hurt, ya know!" Raijin whined, rubbing his leg.

"Ha ha!" Seifer boomed out. "Don't waste your time worrying about me when you better worry about yourself. I'm going upstairs to deliver my highest accolade to one young Chicken Wuss."

Seifer began the long trip up to the surface of the Garden by climbing up a ladder. If he had glanced back, he would have seen Fujin and Raijin talking quietly, concern evident on their faces.

Seifer emerged from the secret passage located in the dormitory wing where Zell's room lay. To help hide his true identity he was appareled in a maintenance worker's uniform. A long dark wig hung down around his face, and dark glasses further disguised him. The young man would have liked to have worn a pair of glasses attached to a large nose and mustache but was saving that particular disguise for a future prank.

Appearing to literally step out of the wall, Seifer moved down the corridor and stopped in front of the door to Zell's room. Two doors down stood three upperclassmen surrounding Nicole and a girlfriend of hers, but they were deeply absorbed in a discussion so no one paid Seifer any attention. Recognizing Nicole as Zell's girlfriend, Seifer realized the pretty librarian must have been waiting for Zell. _Perfect_! he thought.

The ex-knight was carrying two small orange construction cones and a battered gray toolbox. He set one cone on each side of the dorm door and knelt down and opened his toolbox as if he was preparing to fix something. Glancing from the corner of his eye, Seifer assured himself that no one was watching. He took out the paper cup from the toolbox and tilted the contents to the middle of it. Seifer then opened it and slid the open part under the door. He realized he needed to hurry because Zell could come out at any time and ruin the whole thing.

Seifer stood up and stomped extremely hard on the end of the container shooting the contents into the interior. 

"**ARGH!" **Zell screamed from inside the room. The supposed maintenance worker hurried away down the corridor and then waited where he had entered. He wanted a good look at the results of his handiwork.

Zell's door flew open and he stumbled out cursing, covered from head to toe with the contents of the cup. He tripped on the unexpected orange cones in front of his door and as he attempted to right himself he continued teetering down the hallway toward the group of people Nicole was standing with.

Everyone jumped from his way and Zell eventually crashed into the wall and slid down to the floor leaving a brown streak. Hearing people laughing at him, he looked up. Everything took on a surrealistic quality to Zell as he gazed upon the entire group laughing at his expense and holding their noses. Zell felt especially humiliated when he noticed Nicole was laughing the hardest of all.

_Take that, Chicken_ _Wuss_! Seifer thought gleefully as he stepped into the wall. At least one prank brought him some satisfaction that day.

~*~

Headmaster Cid, Quistis, Xu, and a continuing very green Squall sat at a long conference table in Cid's office. Cid had called an emergency staff meeting to deal with the pranks that were abounding all over the Garden. He had also asked Quistis to sit in because it would seem that she had some insight into the situation as she had witnessed one of the very first pranks.

As the meeting began everyone was attempting to ignore that Squall was green. They kept glancing away from him with suppressed grins on their faces, which was calling it all the more to Squall's attention. The commander already appeared aggravated with the entire situation.

Cid began, "I would like to thank everyone for assembling so quickly. We appear to be under some sort of prankish attack. I would also like to thank Quistis for agreeing to sit in with us, because she was fortunate enough to witness one of the attacks."

"You're welcome," she murmured while attempting to keep her attention focused on the Headmaster.

Cid continued, "And you're looking green, Squall...I'm sorry, I meant you're looking good, Squall, considering all the pressure that you have been under lately."

Xu and Quistis did their best to hide their smiles at Cid's faux pas. Squall thought, _What pressure_? _You mean being turned green by my crazy sorceress girlfriend_, _who currently is not speaking with me_?

Cid began to speak but was interrupted by Nida announcing over the intercom, "Jack Meoff, please report to the clinic. I repeat, Jack Meoff, please report to the clinic."

Again Quistis and Xu attempted to hide their giggles. Even Squall was hard pressed not to smile at that malapropism. _I really need to speak with Nida about screening through these messages before just reading them out the way he does_, thought the Headmaster.

"Okay, I'm throwing it open to the floor. Who thinks they have any idea at all what is going on here or who is behind it?"

Quistis spoke up quickly. "I don't think. I know. It's Seifer."

"I don't think you know either, Quistis. Everything is Seifer with you. Seifer is long gone, even if he is alive," said Squall acridly.

Quistis retorted, "Squall, I know you're green with envy – I mean...uh...you're seeing red because of your frustration with Rinoa, but it is Seifer. I saw him!"

As Squall did indeed appear to be somehow turning bright red with anger underneath his presently green skin. Cid immediately spoke, hoping to defuse the situation. "Squall, I realize it's not easy being green – I mean, easy being commander."

With that latest verbal slip, Squall snarled, "I'm outta here." Quickly rising up from his chair, he stalked from the room. With Quistis hiding her laughter behind her gloved hand, Cid declared, "Well, that is certainly most unfortunate, but maybe it will help us be able to better concentrate on the task at hand a little more."

After further discussion, it was agreed that Xu and Quistis would investigate the entire situation as to who was actually responsible for the pranks and report back to the Headmaster as soon as possible.     


	8. Friday, December the eighth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Eight

Friday, December the Eighth

Zell walked beside his girlfriend as he did every morning to help her open up the library for the day. The normally bouncing on his toes, shadow boxing, excitedly talking behavior of Zell was entirely missing. Instead he stepped quietly along silently stone-faced; the only sound escaping his lips was an occasional loud sigh.

Finally Nicole could stand no more and she attempted to speak to him as she had several times previously since he had appeared at her door to escort her to the library. "Zell, I really want to say one more time how sorry I am for the entire thing and that I laughed, but you have to admit it was funny."

"It was not! It was horrible and I never would have laughed if that had happened to you," he said.

Nicole was honest enough with herself to experience a stab of guilt at the truth of his statement. Zell wouldn't have found it humorous because it would have activated his machismo. He would have taken the entire episode as a personal attack against his masculinity as it would have been against her.

_But I bet he would have snickered back in his room with his cronies_, she thought.

Zell took the key from Nicole's hand and unlocked the library. As Nicole stepped inside first to flip on the lights she exclaimed, "Oh, it's so cold in here! The heat must have gone out during the night."

Zell curiously observed the vapors of his breath in front of his face. Wondering what could have happened to the heat he followed Nicole as she stepped further into the polar regions of the library.

"Ekkkk!" she shrieked when her eyes feel upon a long white creature near the stacks. "There's some sort of snake there, Zell, and he's wearing a hat!"

Stepping quickly around his frightened girlfriend to offer protection, Zell began to laugh. "Haha! That's just a snow statue that someone made and it's not a snake with a hat. Haha! Its -." Zell leaned over and whispered the truth into Nicole's ear.

She turned bright crimson in embarrassment when she realized what it actually represented and turned away from it. "Oh, I'm so disgusted. And you think it's _funny_," she accused.

"Oh come on!" Zell protested. "It is funny and I know plenty of girls who would see the humor in it."

"Well, Mr. Zell Dincht, why don't get one of those girls to be your girlfriend? I'm going to my room until this gets taken care of. You contact maintenance to get the heat back on and that _thing_ out of here and despite your strange sense of humor and even stranger lady friends, please keep the library locked in order to keep women and children out!" Nicole flounced from the library leaving Zell standing behind flat-footed with his mouth agape. 

_Women_! he thought ruefully.  

~*~

At a secret time Seifer met with Nida in an undisclosed place via prior arrangement to discuss further nefarious business.

"Here," Seifer said while handing over two grocery sized paper bags. "Add this to Saturday's collection."

"Great!" praised Nida. "What did you get?"

"Well, there's several nightgowns, blankets, beach towels, completely new unopened boxes of perfume and other cosmetics," said Seifer.  "Oh, and there's a brand new coffee maker, still in the box."

"No one is allowed to have that in their rooms, except for the higher staff," Nida commented.

"Bwahaha! That's the beauty of it," said Seifer, laughing. "No one can complain that it's missing."

Following a round of laughter, Nida stepped conspiratorially close to the taller man and spoke, "Hey, that statue of the peni-."

"**STOP**!" Fujin interrupted causing Nida to jump in surprise and fright. As he glanced at he, she further directed, "**RAGE**!"

Raijin stepped forward. "Fujin says Seifer doesn't know what you're talking about and even if he did he would claim no prior knowledge, ya know."

"Oh, sorry," Nida muttered, turning pale. He glanced at Fujin and noted to himself that the black eye patch or the silvery dyed sheen of her hair did not detract from her attractiveness. If anything they gave her a dangerous sort of beauty. _Not my type though, _thought Nida, realizing Fujin could probably break him like a cheap toy.

Seifer laughed. He slammed his hand down hard onto Nida's shoulder and then squeezed causing the slighter man to wince in pain. "Don't worry about it," he boomed out. "Fujin's just a little squeamish when it comes to things like that. No need to apologize. Now I'm expecting a full accounting of our profits when you get back from Balamb tomorrow, hmmm?"

"Of course," Nida answered. He was shaking slightly and appeared to turn even paler than when Fujin had yelled at him, if that was possible.

"Because I'm compiling a full listing of everything I have given you," Seifer further explained, still grinning wickedly.

"Uh...yeah...good," Nida stammered. "I – I'll see you tomorrow."

Nida hurriedly left the scene but he could feel Seifer's eyes boring into his back with every step. He knew without looking that the former knight was no longer smiling. 

~*~

Once again, as on almost every Friday afternoon, the Festival Committee was in full swing. Rinoa spoke on interminably concerning what the Decoration Sub-Committee had already accomplished and what further developments in that area were yet planned. Quistis sat beside her boyfriend who appeared to be totally engrossed in what Rinoa was recounting. He was slightly leaning forward and staring intently at the young sorceress. Quistis assumed Rinoa's latest outfit might have just mesmerized him.

She was appareled in long red pantaloons that reached down to her green elf shoes, the kind with curled up toes and gold jingle bells. Her pantaloons were made of a sheer fabric but they were not risqué in any manner as Rinoa was wearing beneath them red and green striped thermal underwear. A red and green plaid flannel shirt graced her upper half. Only a few of the lower buttons were fastened, but again the situation was saved because Rinoa was wearing a heavy-duty red and green sports bra. The ordinarily pretty sorceress actually resembled a crossing dressing transsexual lumberjack.

As Rinoa rambled on, Quistis discovered herself wondering what exactly had happened to her friend who usually had such exquisite taste in her clothing. It was as though Rinoa had become bewitched by the entire holiday season into becoming something or somebody that she was not.

_That sounds exactly like me too_! Quistis realized with a sudden bolt of honest insight. _I_'_m not usually like this_, _so bitter_, _complaining_, _and judgmental_. _What exactly is wrong with me_? _Is it my relationship with Matt_? _No_, _that __can't be it. __It's been like this for a while and I haven'_t been anywhere near as this disaffected_. _You know I never have been a huge fan of the holidays_, _I wonder why_?_

Selphie's strident tone cut through Quistis' reveries postponing any further insight. "Let's hear it for Rinoa and all the work her sub-committee has done so far in decorating the Garden!" Selphie led everyone in a loud round of applause but there was some question whether people were clapping for the work Rinoa and her sub-committee had accomplished, or that she had finally stopped talking about it.

"**Boo**!" suddenly cut through the air from the back of the Quad. Quistis didn't even bother turning her head this time because she knew it was Seifer and she also knew he wouldn't be anywhere visible if she did look.

Selphie squinted into the audience completely perplexed as to who would be so mean spirited to boo at a holiday festival meeting, but when it didn't continue she didn't say anything. "Okay, next on the agenda, is to announce that the final arrangements were made and that the music group 'The Lone Chocobo' will be performing at our holiday dance!"

This announcement was greeted by truly spontaneous applause and cheering, as it had been quite a coup on Selphie's part to enlist their services. 'The Lone Chocobo' were currently topping the musical charts in Deling City. Selphie broke into a large smile at the response that caused her to look truly beautiful, Irvine noticed with an aching in his heart. He still hadn't been able to worm himself back into Selphie's good graces.

"Okay, that's everything for today. You all are continuing to do a great job, so keep up the good work! On your out, please come up and get your official ballot for the Winterfest Queen. Booyaka!"

After they had waited in the long line, Matt declared, "Look, Quissy. Here's your name. Guess who I'm gonna vote for?"

Quistis glanced disdainfully at her name on the ballot, but inside she was secretly pleased. That is, until she noticed every attractive female in the Garden was listed, including the women on the kitchen and dinner room staff and laundry crew. Quistis knew she didn't have a chance at winning that honor, so she pushed the thought from her mind. Rinoa would probably win as she always won at everything. Then glancing again at Rinoa's outlandish attire thought, _Well… maybe not._

Selphie had asked all of her close friends to remain behind except for Irvine. With a long sigh and a pathetic expression he forlornly wandered out of the Quad. Quistis stood in a group consisting of Matt, Zell, Nicole, and Rinoa who were quietly talking until Selphie finished her task of handing out ballots.

"Let's go to the coffee shop everybody!"  suggested Selphie as she bounded over to the group.

As the gang walked to the Garden Scarbutt's Coffee Shoppe (which was there under a special trial contract) they were discussing the various pranks that had already been played and whether or not they might continue. Of course the others at the table were discreet and did not mention the prank played on Zell since he was present.

"Well, what's being done about this?" Zell angrily demanded as they sat around the table after acquiring their purchases. Oblivious to the chaos in Garden, Rinoa returned with another Super Mega Grande Sugarplum Surprise coffee, as it has taken her only moments to finish her first.

"Yeah," Nicole reiterated in a sharp tone. She was still highly indignant over the snow statue that had been erected, so to speak, in the library.

"We know who's doing it, but we don't know where's he hiding," Quistis insisted.

"Every fox smells his own hole," Matt intoned.

"Oh Quistis, don't start that Seifer stuff again," Selphie complained.

"What the hell does that mean, Matt?" Zell inquired.

"It means, Zell, that birds of a feather flock together," Quistis' boyfriend answered.

"Will you all excuse me for a moment?" Rinoa asked, getting up from her chair and returning to the food and beverage counter. Quistis looked worriedly after her.

"Wait a minute, Matt," the blond-haired man interjected. "What is _that_ suppose to mean?"

"It means a rolling stone gathers no moss," Matt good-naturedly tried again.

Rinoa reseated herself and asked, "What'd I miss?"

Irvine stepped up to the table and greeted everyone. "Howdy, how you all doing?" When Selphie looked pointedly away, Quistis realized something had to be done to get the couple back together. Irvine looked as if he hadn't slept in days and his normally neat hair stuck out at all angles from beneath his hat.

"Rinoa," Quistis questioned, "Isn't that your fourth jumbo coffee? Isn't that too many? However will you get to sleep tonight?"

"Come on, Matt," Zell insisted. "What's that moss thing mean?"

"A wayward wind is a restless wind," Irvine interjected. Selphie rolled her eyes.

"Sleep? I don't need sleep," Rinoa said and then laughed manically. "I have too much decorating to do. In fact, look at the coffee shop. It doesn't have one decoration. It's begging for my touch."

"Now, Rinoa," Selphie warned. "I really don't think the Festival Committee's authority is extended to the coffee shop. This is a privately owned operation."

"Oh don't be silly. Who wouldn't want their business festively decorated at this time of year?" Rinoa insisted.

"You know come to think of it, has anyone seen Squall?" Irvine asked.

"Squall!" Rinoa wailed at the top of her lungs.

"Yeah, you're right," Zell agreed. "I haven't seen Squall since Rinoa turned him green."

"Squall!" Rinoa wailed again, this time with tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh Rinny," Selphie attempted to comfort the young sorceress by offering a quick hug. "It'll be okay as soon as the green wears off."

Rinoa jumped up from her chair and fled the coffee shop, but not before reaffirming her goal of decorating the coffee shop that very evening.

"Now see what you've done," Nicole accused Zell looking angrily at him.

"Yeah," Selphie reaffirmed glaring at Irvine, who flushed and slunk from the shop.

While Matt sat beside her mindlessly chanting clichés, Quistis realized she had never before seen a more dysfunctional group of people. Whatever was to become of us? she wondered. Quistis bowed her head and silently prayed. _Oh Great Hyne_, _Please grant us a holiday miracle_. 


	9. Saturday, December the ninth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Nine

Saturday, December the Ninth

It was midmorning on a Saturday and that meant, cold weather or not, the Balamb Harbor Charity Flea Market was up and running at full tilt. It was a weekly tradition for most of the residents of the City of Balamb and the surrounding countryside to visit the flea market. There were usually also visitors from Timber, Dollet, and Trabia. After all the last two locations were a mere boat ride away. In fact, sometimes people traveled from as far away as Deling City if they were searching for a specific item that they had been unable to locate in Galbadia.

The 'charity' part of the Charity Flea Market was sometimes in question, but the local authorities always looked the other away because it generated so much revenue for their town and it's inhabitants. And not just in the area of the flea market itself, but also money spent on meals and lodging. This explained how it was possible that the Garden had a booth of its own usually manned by Brian, the most conceited SeeD at Garden.

There was also a brand new Garden-sponsored booth run by Nida, who had weaseled special dispensation out of Cid. In effect this meant that all he had to do was to pay Cid ten percent of his profits. Brian, one the other hand, turned all his proceeds into Cid and all he ever received in return was a good feeling for helping the Garden (although every once in a while he would meet a tender young thing who would be enamored with his being a SeeD). 

Since it was the holiday season the Charity Flea Market was thronged with visitors searching for gifts for their special someones. Nida's booth in particular that morning was crowded with young women who were picking through masculine gift items, such as cologne and jewelry. 

Suddenly Linnea exclaimed, "Say, isn't that my brand new night gown that I'm missing?" She stood holding a beautiful red velvet and lace gown in her hands.

"Oh no!" Nida protested. "I'm sure you're mistaken, my items come directly from bankrupt businesses." He reached out to take the merchandize back, but the young woman stepped back so Nida couldn't reach it.

"No, I'm certain this is mine," she replied firmly. "It has my name in it, right here – see?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Shana. "That's my polka-dotted Pokemon bra and panty set. There isn't another one of those within a thousand miles and mine is missing!"

"That's my bed lamp!" accused Reba. "It has a small chip on it at the base."

When the other young women, who included Brianna and Danine, began finding some of their 'lost' items, Nida exclaimed, "Okay, ladies! That's it for this morning. I have to close down for my spiritual time. Come back this afternoon." He managed to push them out of his small, tented area and closed off the flap without any more loss of merchandize than he had already experienced.

As the young women had remained clustered around outside his sales area, he hoped they became bored and moved on soon so he could reopen. _Phew_, he thought. _Seifer will never believe this_. _What am I gonna tell him_?

~*~

Quistis trailed behind Selphie at the flea market as she had on the their previous shopping occasion at Balamb Mall. The smaller more energetic SeeD whisked expertly in and out of the crowd, and Quistis was having difficulty keeping up with her friend. It seemed as if Selphie discovered something she just had to have at each booth they came to and then right after purchase it became Quistis' responsibility to carry.

After coming out of one shopping area before entering another, Quistis complained, "Selphie, could we stop for a moment and sit down and get something to drink? You're wearing me out." Before Selphie could respond Quistis' eyes opened wide and she exclaimed, "Oh MY!"

Selphie turned to observe Rinoa shopping with a group of her sycophants from her sub-committee. "Holy Shiva…" muttered Selphie, putting a hand to her mouth to hide her amused grin.

Rinoa was once again decked out in one of her mind-boggling holiday outfits. She was wearing a beautiful long red gown that had been altered to include a five-foot train of green velvet. Two rather large sleigh earrings dangled on each side of her face, and there was a holiday wreath on top of her head, complete with artificial candles that flickered almost realistically. That was bizarre enough, but Rinoa completed the outfit with a small holiday tree dangling from her nose.

"I didn't know Rinoa had her nose pierced," Selphie said, unable to keep the astonishment from her voice.

It was at that moment that the local terror of the neighborhood the eight-year-old male child known solely by the appellation of 'Big Bad Rascal' came walking by with his mother. Before anyone realized what was happening, Big Bad Rascal burst from his mother's side and disappeared under the train of Rinoa's gown.

The movement beneath Rinoa's gown resembled the passage of food along the body of a boa constrictor as 'Big Bad Rascal' made his way to where the train ended and her gown began. When he finally entered the secret place beneath Rinoa's gown, Rinoa began to gyrate and scream wildly making all who watched the scene wonder what exactly the little boy was doing.

The boy's mother was finally galvanized into action. She ran over and dove under the train. "You come out of there right now, young man!" she cried out.

Unfortunately by the time the young woman had extricated her son, Rinoa's train had been badly ripped. Once again, though, propriety was saved. Beneath her gown Rinoa wore a pair of knickers that were decorated with _Happy on the back of one leg and __Holidays on the other._

Rinoa began to keen in protest and Quistis grabbed Selphie by her upper arm. "Oh Hyne! If Rinoa Angel Wings here, we may never see her again!"

Luckily Rinoa was again able to utilize the anger management technique she had been taught so many years prior. It only took her seven times of counting backwards from ten to one until she lovingly gazed upon her tormenter and praised in a sugary sweet voice, "Such a cute little boy!" She turned to the other members of her shopping expedition who were all staring at her with wide eyes and chalky complexions that indicated their anxiety over Rinoa's possible reaction to the scene. "Come," she said dramatically, "Let us hire a cab and return to the Garden. We have much decorating left to do."

As Rinoa and her entourage left the immediate area headed for the taxicab stand, Quistis visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. _That had just been too close, she thought.    _

~*~

Irvine had everything laid out that he needed to accomplish his task, which would reunite him with his beloved Selphie. _Irvin_e had decided that he had moped long enough. As soon as Zell came back from working out, Irvine was hoping he would be literally delivered to her arms. The young cowboy had already acquired a carton large enough so he could be 'mailed' to his girlfriend.

The sometime wannabe philanderer quickly went about his task of covering the box with festive holiday wrapping paper. Irvine then wrapped the box lid also. All Zell would have to do was deliver Irvine back into the good graces of his true love.

The longhaired man discovered he hadn't finished a moment too soon as Zell hurried into his room. "Okay Zell, I'll get in the box and you put the lid on and tie it shut with the ribbon." He pointed to the cart he'd borrowed from the mailroom. "Then push me down to Selphie's room."

Zell had perspiration dripping from him because of his intense physical workout. "Hey, give a minute!" the blond-haired warrior protested. "I need to take a quick shower."

"Okay," Irvine agreed, "but hurry up." Irvine's sense of hygiene had already been greatly offended and he wouldn't care to have Zell dripping copious amounts of sweat onto his gift box.

"Five minutes – tops," said Zell.

Zell was true to his promise as five minutes later he emerged from the steamy bathroom toweling himself off.  _You know, he does have a nice body_, Irvine thought. _Whoa_!!! _What am I thinking_? _I **have** been away from Selphie for too long_.

Observing the strange expression on his friend's face, Zell asked, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Irvine muttered while glancing away. "Just hurry up, will you?"

"Okay, okay."

A few minutes later Zell was completed outfitted once again. After Irvine climbed into the box, Zell placed the lid in place and appropriately wrapped it in ribbon and tied a passable bow on top. Zell began to push the parcel into the hallway but was soon stopped by several of his hand-to-hand combat students greeting him. _Oh no_! the presently boxed cowboy thought. He realized with a sinking heart how easily Zell could become distracted from the task at hand.

"Zell," one of the students said, "they're serving hot dogs right now in the cafeteria; first come, first serve."

"Yeah," another one agreed. "You better go right now or they'll all be gone."

"But I have to deliver this present to F-Dorm, hallway B, room 23 right away," Zell replied, the appeal for some help obvious in his tone.

"Oh, we can do that," the third student assured the blond-haired SeeD.

"Are you certain you can handle it?" Zell inquired. "This is _very important."_

"Certainly, sir," they assured him.

"Okay then, thanks a lot," Zell called out already running down the corridor.

The three students looked at each other with smug expressions, secure in the knowledge they were assured passable grades when Zell reported their helpfulness to Instructor Aki. One of them attempted to continue pushing the huge box, but being rather slight in nature was unable to budge the load. One of his buddies attempted to help, but instead of moving as intended the cart tilted and dumped its load to the floor. Irvine groaned in pain, but no one heard him.

"Good job!" said the third student said sarcastically.

The other two glared at their friend. "If you think you can do better," retorted the first, "be my guest." He gestured to the box.

 "Damn!" the third student complained when he defiantly tried to lift the box back onto the cart. "What's he got in here – bricks?"

_I knew Zell would screw this up, Irvine thought miserably from within the present. Suddenly he heard a rather wispy voice that sounded vaguely familiar to him despite the strange tone say, "You fellows having a problem?"_

"Yeah, we are, we're supposed to deliver this to F-Dorm, hallway B, room 23 and it's too heavy to carry."

The person who had spoken was a rather tall man wearing black frame glasses and appeared to have a large nose and black mustache. Leaning over the box, he read the label. It read _To Selphie, from Irvine._

"Well, you're in luck, I can deliver this for you," the man asserted while bending over and easily replacing the package to the cart and effortlessly sliding it down the hallway. "Gee, thanks mister," one of the students said.

"No problem," the man answered. Inside the carton Irvine thought, _Thank Hyne, __but I'__m gonna kill that Zell when I see him._

The rather odd appearing young man gently deposited the box in front of room 23, then leaned over and ripped the greeting label off and stuffed it in his pocket. After he rapped on the door, the man walked quickly down the hallway, but not far enough that he didn't a good view of what was to happen next.

The door opened and three young women stood in the doorway. As they were all SeeDs, the young women were dressed in civvies since they were now officially off duty for the day.

"Hey look, Andrea, somebody has left you a package," Danine exclaimed excitedly.

"Who's it from?" the dark-haired young woman naturally asked.

"It doesn't say."

"What are you waiting for?" a young woman named Corinne asked. "Open it up."

Andrea tore into the job with relish and quickly tore off the ribbon and part of the paper before lifting the top. And out popped Irvine! It was a toss up who was more surprised – the young cowboy or the three female SeeDs.

"Oh what a great gift," gushed Danine, only halfway joking. "You are so lucky!"

Andrea began pulling Irvine from the carton while thinking, _It'__s not Squall, __but I think I may be able to make do...__just this once._

As Irvine's continual bad luck would have it, he had been delivered, not to Selphie's hall, but instead to hallway C. And just at that exact moment, Selphie was walking by with Quistis when her eyes fell upon the totally reprehensible sight of Irvine allowing himself to be mauled by three pretty young women.

"Irvine Kinneas!" Selphie screeched.

Irvine froze as if hit by stop magic as did Andrea also, while Corinne and Danine continued to pull Irvine's long coat from his body. Andrea offered a sickly grin to Selphie since she desired to remain in her sponsor's good graces, but one look at the fury evident on Selphie's normally placid features explained to her it was far too late for that.

Selphie quickly turned away from the awful tableau that lay before her and stormed away down the corridor with Quistis following in her wake. Irvine cried out in vain. "Wait Selphie! It's not what it looks like." _Oh why me? he thought piteously, __Why me?_

After Selphie and Quistis had passed by him and then off the hallway, the odd appearing and even odder sounding tall man chortled to himself and then stepped into the wall. He had one more bit of business to attend to before the night was through.

Seifer traveled quickly through the hidden passageways to hallway B. Standing inside the wall by the hidden door he waited until he heard the angry expostulations of Selphie and the more soothing and soft-spoken comments of Quistis. Seifer's hair stood on end when heard the raucous holiday good will whining of Rinoa as she joined the duo.

_Hyne_! _The unholy three_! he thought sardonically. The ex-knight pressed his ear up against the almost completely invisible crack of the door and listened carefully until he heard his three female nemeses enter Selphie's room. Seifer stepped out quickly into the hallway even though he had no way of knowing if anyone was watching or not, because if it was to be done...it had to be done quickly.

His luck held, as there was not one person loitering in the corridor. He supposed they were all inside their rooms dolling themselves up for the dinner hour. _Mwahaha_! he thought. _You know I really have to quit doing that_. _I'm beginning to scare myself_, _it_'s _no wonder I_'_m worrying Raijin and Fujin_.

Seifer stepped quickly along down the corridor and stopped at the door to Selphie's room. He was carrying several long segments of rope he had left secured in the passageway earlier in the day. Once Seifer reached the door to 'the little messenger girl's' room, he tied one end of the rope to the doorknob and then stretched the rope across the hall. Seifer then tied the other end of the rope to the door of the room opposite of the Selphie's. Since the doors opened in, the occupants of the rooms would not be able to get out as long as the rope held. The ex-knight quickly set about his task of arranging rope on several other sets of doors. (Although many of the offices and rooms in the Garden now had the modern magnetic door pads, this particular corridor still held the older styles of doors and locks.)

 Seifer heard one of the doors in question attempting to be opened and he turned and ran up the hall on his tiptoes until he reached the entrance to the hidden passageway. After flipping on the fire alarm, he stood with his arms crossed to witness his latest destruction to the psyche of his victims.

As soon as the young women heard the fire alarm they attempted to exit their rooms quickly. He was delighted when he heard the first screams of the female SeeDs and upperclassmen when they discovered they couldn't exit their rooms, but Seifer was profoundly disappointed when he witnessed Selphie's door come flying out into the hall and slam down onto the floor. Apparently Rinoa had been able to utilize her sorceress magic and cast thundaga at the door, as it was still smoking from the electrical shock.

_Damn her_! Seifer thought as he ducked back inside the wall. _I'll get her yet_, _although I have to admit between Commander Puberty and what she is doing to herself_, _there_'_s not too much more I could do to her that would be worse_.   


	10. Sunday, December the tenth

Disclaimer: We don't own FF8, its characters, or places. We don't own the idea of chocobolate either. That comes from the mind of Jeremy Chapter. In fact, if you happen to see references to other fanfics that haven't been mentioned, that's because none of us can remember which fics they came from. Giving credit where credit is due is nearly impossible because of the sheer number of fics that were deleted from this site. Please look upon any references as tributes to the greatness of the fics they were borrowed from.

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Ten

Sunday, December the Tenth

Quistis was sitting on a couch and relaxing with her long legs stretched out over a folding chair in the staff lounge at the end of the B wing of classrooms on the second floor. Not having slept well the previous night, the instructor was exhausted. She had been unable to rid her mind of the Seifer problem as she tossed and turned throughout the night. 

Knowing for certain that Seifer was living within Garden, most likely with his posse, was satisfaction enough for Quistis even if others chose to remain in denial. What bothered her was that she just couldn't understand how he was doing it. Although she did realize she was missing some vital piece of information pertaining to his prankish activities, this didn't stop Quistis from masochistically torturing herself to solve this bizarre riddle. Grateful that so far Seifer had seemed to be more interested in perpetuating cheap tricks rather than really doing any real harm to anyone, Quistis could at least in good conscience take her time with this mystery.

When the lounge payphone began to ring, Quistis sighed in frustration. She was feeling particularly lazy and since there was no one else currently present it fell to her to answer it. Groaning slightly as she stood up, the pretty blonde took her time walking over to the telephone hoping whoever was calling would just give up. 

Picking up the receiver, she said, "Hello." 

A high-pitched voice answered, "Hello, hello, is anybody there?"

"Hello," Quistis replied a bit louder.

Again the voice reiterated, "Hello, can you hear me?"

Feeling suddenly frustrated far beyond the situation, Quistis practically screamed into the phone's mouthpiece. "Yes, I can hear you!"

"Okay," the weird voice answered. "You don't have to yell."

"Oh sorry," Quistis apologized feeling chagrined at being guilty of taking her frustration over the Seifer problem out on some totally innocent person.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you," the voice accused.

"I said I was -, oh never mind," the blonde instructor replied. "Who did you wish to speak to?"

"Is Amanda Huggenkiss there?" asked the voice.

"I'm sorry, who did you say?" Quistis inquired assuming she had misunderstood since everything about this conversation had been confusing since the beginning.

"I said," the voice retorted distinctly, "is...Amanda...Huggenkiss...there?"

"Well, I don't know who that is, but I'm the only here," the blonde woman admitted.

"Then who are you exactly?" the voice snottily demanded.

Quistis stiffened at the tone and the question. "I'm Instructor Quistis Trepe, who is this?"

"This is Yank Maroot," a familiar deep voice retorted. "Bwahaha!"

The line went dead. "That was Seifer," Quistis spoke aloud while hanging up the phone. _It was as if he knew I was the only one in here_. _How could he have known that_?

Quistis suddenly looked up at the security camera in the corner of the room. _There_ are _cameras all over the Garden_. _Is he able to utilize the security system_? Quistis shivered at the very thought of the sheer havoc Seifer could wreak if this were the case.

"I have to get to the bottom of this," Quistis vowed.

"What did you say, Quisty?" Rinoa asked from the second room of the lounge area that she was currently decorating.

"Oh, nothing," Quistis answered not wishing to be drawn into another fruitless discussion concerning Seifer. "Just talking to myself, is all."

"Talking to yourself, huh? Hehe, getting a little crazy over the holidays, are we?" Rinoa inquired stepping into the doorway from the other room.

Quistis stared at Rinoa in shock. The sorceress' newest creation was the most risqué and by far the silliest. She wore a tiny brown bikini that had an artificial reindeer's tail affixed to the back. The ensemble would have been complete with the antlers affixed to the top of her head, but Rinoa took the look a step further by gluing a flashing red LCD light to her nose. Before the instructor could think of an appropriate way of responding to Rinoa's new outfit she heard Squall's voice just outside of the lounge door.

Squall was standing in the hallway talking to the new SeeD from Trabia Garden. Quistis supposed Squall had been on his way to accomplish some errand when the young woman had stopped him, but it was still surprising to see him standing still for the conversation.

The young woman of course was Andrea and she was presently standing very close to Squall and had stopped him on his way by placing her right hand on his chest intimately. "You know, Commander Leonhart, I just love the holidays," she cooed. "Especially the colors… red" -she paused dramatically and ran her left index finger down Squall's cheek-"and green..."

Quistis observed that beneath Squall's still green skin he was blushing furiously. "Please just call me Commander," he said. "The other way is just too formal, it was good to see you again. Now you must excuse me as -."

The sound of "Ah-oooh-eee!" split the air interrupting Squall, who realized with haunting familiarity what that particular frequency implied. "Angel Alert! Angel Alert!" he called out as loudly as he could.

Having been so engrossed with watching the young female SeeD's less than discreet flirting with Squall, Quistis was startled to see Rinoa Angel Winging once again. Ducking down, Quistis quickly cast reflect onto herself.

In a panic Squall again called out "Angel Alert!" Squall, who had remembered to junction Diablos that morning, quickly cast reflect on himself and pulled out his cell phone. He attempted to call the Angel Alert Team but the private number that was supposed to always be open for an emergency such as this was busy. _I'm gonna kill Nida, _thought Squall. This wouldn't be the first time Garden's ex-pilot used the emergency line to make personal calls.

Squall followed as his girlfriend floated out in the hallway at ceiling level randomly casting magic. Watching helplessly, he saw Andrea hit with confuse and realized too late that the Rinoa-look-alike had somehow missed the Angel Alert procedure orientation. The pretty young woman began to run wildly around in circles, banging off the walls as she ricocheted down the corridor.

Squall called the upper office, which was answered by Xu and not Nida for some strange reason. "Call for the Angel Alert team and the doctor to the end of B wing, second floor," he ordered. "And tell the doctor there's a female SeeD who's afflicted by confuse also."

"Immediately," Xu answered and hung up. The ever-competent woman quickly made the necessary announcements over the intercom. As Squall watched the chaos caused by his girlfriend and her seemingly twin sister, he struck his lowered forehead with the palm of his hand in his familiar gesture.

Squall remained in the corridor until he was certain that both Rinoa and Andrea had been successfully medicated and the situation brought under control. He joined the small human convoy that transported the two young women to the infirmary where they would not be released until they were no longer a danger to themselves and/or others.

_Has this thing gone too far with Rinoa_? Squall wondered, looking at Rinoa's sleeping figure through the observation window. _Should I speak with the doctor in hopes of Rinoa receiving some psychological treatment for her emotional problems_? The green man didn't realize that he too would qualify for some assistance in that area and would be insulted if someone broached the idea to him. 

Squall absently wandered from the infirmary back up to the lounge where the day's drama had all begun. He nodded at Quistis who was tidying up the lounge area as best she could. She nodded in return at him as he crossed the room and stepped into the second room that Rinoa had been busily decorating.

_I can_'_t believe it_, the commander thought completely stunned. _Even for Rinoa_, _this is truly over the top_. In an unbelievably short period of time, Rinoa had pushed all the furniture into the center of the room, covered it all with sheets and drop cloths and repainted the entire room in murals of the holiday season.

_You know actually she seems to have some talent_, Squall thought, surprised to find himself impressed with Rinoa's artwork. _Maybe I should let her take those art lessons she has been clamoring about_. _But how did she do all this in such a short time this morning_? _Or was she up all night_?

The green commander had heard the rumors of how much coffee Rinoa had been ingesting and that it had been approaching Balzac's record of seventy cups a day. _Maybe I'd better go down to the coffee shop and have her cut off_. _But what good will that actually do_? _She probably has a coffee maker in her room as do most people_, _despite the rules and regulations prohibiting it_. _Plus the coffee shop would be losing a presently good source of revenue_.

Squall knew Scarbutt's Coffee was in Garden under a trial contract. If the popular chain failed to produce enough revenue to impress Cid their contract would not be renewed. Unsure if he could live without his daily chocobolate frappuccino, Squall decided to let that matter drop.

Squall was suddenly struck by a new thought. _Where is she getting the money for all this_? _Oh she's probably using her trust fund_, he realized. _But that_'_s no good either_. _She could waste all of her inheritance_, _not that it_'_s any of my business_, _but she may need that money later_. _She could easily end up an old maid the way she's headed_. Squall accepted with a sigh that he _would_ need to speak with the doctor about Rinoa possibly receiving some sort of counseling. He just prayed to Hyne it didn't involve relationship counseling too.

Squall turned and left the newly painted room, passed by Quistis with another nod and headed down the hall to return to his office. Along the way it seemed to the commander that everyone he passed was so obviously looking away from him that they might have just as well stared directly at him. With a glower Squall quickened his pace until he was almost running back to the solace of his office.

Upon reaching the door of his office and discovering it ajar, Squall finally reached his boiling point. He exploded when he saw that the student who was sandpapering the baseboards in preparation of retouching them with white enamel was wearing a green jumpsuit. Falsely assuming he was being mocked, Squall barked out, "You will stand at attention when a superior enters the room!"

Startled and terrified the younger man leapt quickly to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Squall asked in an accusatory tone.

"Uh...sandpapering your baseboards?" the upperclassman tentatively asked, correctly assuming some sort of word trickery.

"No, I don't mean that. Don't you salute a superior officer when he enters the room?"

"Yes sir!" the student enthusiastically answered slamming his hand holding the sandpaper against his forehead rubbing a pimple the wrong way.

"No, no!" Squall almost stamped his foot in frustration but managed to stop himself before he was mistaken for Rinoa. "Throw that sandpaper down!" When the cadet did as ordered, the commander next asked, "Who told you to wear that green suit?"

"Sir?" the student answered in complete confusion.

"Are you deaf too? I said who told you to wear that green suit?" Squall repeated.

"No one, sir."

"Oh came up with the idea on your own, did you?" the commander probed.

"Sir?" said the young teenager again, completely out of his depth.

"Look, I absolutely hate this repeating myself for every question. How about you just take that work uniform off?" Squall explained.

"All right, sir," the cadet acquiesced reluctantly. He bent over slightly and began to unbuckle his belt.

"No, no! For God's sakes, not in my office," the young man's by now totally frustrated superior officer yelled. "What kind of a fruit do you take me for? I believe you need a work detail for all this chicanery."

"Sir, I'm already on a work detail," the student explained. "That's why I'm not in class."

"Are you arguing with me?"

The cadet silently shook his head, being completely and irretrievably befuddled by this time by everything that had passed in the last few minutes.

"I can't hear you!" Squall screamed, sounding exactly like a Marine Drill Instructor.

"No sir! I'm not arguing. I would be most happy to do any extra work detail."

"Good, now let's see," the commander mused pensively. "I have it. I want you to go down to Ms. Heartilly's room, rip down all those trashy decorations and repaint the room in the traditional Garden colors."

"Yes sir!" the upperclassman enthusiastically replied while throwing up his right hand in a wild salute. As Squall returned the cadet's salute, the younger teenager fled the room happy to have escaped alive. 

From somewhere behind him Squall heard a distinctly feminine sigh. The minute hairs on the presently startled man's arms and the back of his neck stood on end as he whipped around to find that he was indeed alone. 

Writing it off as a trick of his mind brought about by stress, Squall began to rummage through the paperwork he had planned for that day. Then the voice spoke, "Oh no, this is surely all wrong, Squall."

_Oh great_, he thought sardonically. _Now Quistis isn_'_t the only one having hallucinations_.

The phone on his desk rang out and Squall grabbed out at it, glad to have some distraction from whatever it was that was happening in his office. He heard Cid's voice command, "Squall, come up to my office for a moment. We have some important business to attend to."

"Yes sir," the commander answered. Squall set the phone back on its' cradle and then pressed the palm on his right hand up into his forehead attempting to push the headache he felt suddenly arising back further into his brain. _What the Diablos else can go wrong today_? he wondered.          

When Squall first entered Cid's office, the first thing he observed out of place from the normal mess was the figure of Nida sitting glumly in a chair in front of Cid's desk. _What_'_s wrong with him_? 

He next realized there were several attractive young women clustered around the front of Cid's desk loudly chattering in an angry tone. _You know_, _come to think of it_, Squall ruminated, _how come you never see anything but attractive young women here_? _I mean some of them are beautiful_, _some are pretty_, _and others are attractive_, _but there_ are never _even any plain women here_, _much less unattractive_. _And they all have great figures too_! _You never see any too fat or too thin_. _How does Cid manage this_? _And why does Edea let him_?

Linnea's voice sliced right through Squall's thoughts. "He was trying to sell my brand new night gown and then he had the nerve to deny it; but it had my name in it."

Cid nodded approvingly at her, happy that someone at least was obeying his strong suggestion to put their names in their clothing to cut down on unauthorized 'borrowing' and outright stealing.

Next Squall heard Shana accuse, "Yeah, and the perv was trying to sell my 'unmentionables.' You know there's a big market for that kind of thing."

"Oh my dear, we don't have any secrets here. You're free to mention whatever you want," the Headmaster advised. Squall looked on suddenly aghast. He knew damn well Cid understood what the girl was speaking of and he suddenly cleared his throat and glared at the middle-aged man who fell silent.

Reba filled the heavy silence that followed by explaining, "Yeah, and he was trying to sell my 'Winnie the Pooh' bedside lamp that I've had since I was a little girl and you can get a fortune for them on Ebay."

"You can?" Nida asked suddenly lifting his head in interest.

"Nida!!" Cid admonished causing the SeeD once again to lower his head and stare at the floor. Brianna and Danine then went on to recount the things of theirs that they had discovered Nida attempting to sell at his flea market booth.

"Okay, thank you ladies," said the Headmaster. "If you will all excuse us, Commander Leonhart and I will discuss this problem in private."

The young women began to leave Cid's office and Nida stood up from the chair. "Not you, Nida!" Cid declared. "Sit." Nida dropped like an anchor back into the chair. As soon as the office was cleared of the young women, the Headmaster said, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Nida finally glanced up. "I didn't take any of those things."

"That's a little difficult to believe," Cid said.

Squall understood immediately the fine line of semantics Nida was using. "Who gave them to you?"

Nida appeared completely panicked. He was attempting to discern who he was most scared of – Cid and the commander, or Seifer and his posse. The threesome won the contest of fear, hands down. Nida answered, "No one gave them to me. I found them out behind the garbage dump one afternoon. I guess someone stole them and then stashed them there and was going to come back later."

"Come on, Nida," Cid chided. "That's far too thin to be believed."

Squall was astonished. He would have bet his yearly income that Cid would have given into Nida's lame story. He was delighted to see the Headmaster suddenly developing some backbone, particularly when he could use the feeble excuse of the holidays to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

"It's the truth," Nida whined.

"Last chance, Nida," the Headmaster said. When Nida didn't answer, Cid continued. "Then you will turn in all monies made by your ill gotten gains and since you refuse to own your guilt. We can not imprison you in the disciplinary room so I am forced to suspend you forthwith. You will turn in the Gil you made on Saturday and remember I have your own accounting of that right here. Commander Leonhart will escort you to your room to pack and then you are to leave the Garden. I'm sorry it had to turn out like this, but you refuse to stand up like a man and tell us who else is involved. Good luck and goodbye."

With that, Cid sat back down at his desk and began to fuss with papers lying upon it. This was Cid's usual way of stepping away from the drama and leaving it to Squall to clean up as usual. Truth be told, Cid honestly had no idea how to properly handle this situation. There had never been an episode such as this and Cid therefore had no protocol to act upon. Such dishonesty within Garden was an embarrassment at the very least. He did not want to publicize the incident and give the rumor mill further fodder with which to attack SeeD.

A half an hour later Nida had turned in the necessary fine to Squall and packed all his belongings. Squall escorted Nida from the Garden as per the orders from Cid. Step by step Nida hung back a little more each time until he was a full three to four feet behind the commander. Suddenly Squall realized he didn't hear or feel the presence of Nida beside him and he stopped and turned. He observed that the hallway was completely devoid of any presence but his own.

_Well this is just one more damn thing I can_'_t explain_. _I_'_m not even surprised anymore_, Squall thought ruefully.

~*~

After slipping into a secret passage in the hallway, Nida hurried along as quickly and quietly as he could through the subterranean world beneath Garden. His suitcases were slowing him down considerably, but the young man refused to just leave them because it was all he presently owned in the world. Fighting the red-hot bombs and stupid grand mantises that had taken refuge within Garden was more of an annoyance any real danger. 

After wisely stashing his belongings in a safe place, Nida finally climbed down the last ladder leading to the lowest MD. Entering the area where Seifer and company had set up housekeeping the former pilot was quite surprised to discover no one was home. 

_Oh well_, Nida thought, _No doubt they_'_re up to no good somewhere_. He sat wearily in an armchair wondering what was to become of him. A lump in the cushion of the chair caught Nida's attention by causing his bottom serious discomfort. He stuck his hand down carefully under the seat cushion not knowing what to expect and gingerly extricated a glass jar. Nida unfastened the tin lid with great difficulty because he wasn't strong enough to easily undo what Seifer or Raijin must have sealed. Hell, if Nida had thought about it he would have admitted that Fujin could have fastened it also.

Finally removing the top and taking a good look into the interior, Nida felt his breath stick in his throat for a minute. It was full of Gil! _Hyne! There must be thousands in here!_ There wasn't a doubt in Nida's mind that he was owed this money because he had just lost his position as a SeeD because of Seifer. Of course his admittance of Seifer was the fault of the Garden staff, too. They had decided to return Garden to its rightful place outside of Balamb without so much as a thought given to Nida's feeling at losing his position as pilot. And that stingy Squall would never permit Nida to pilot the Ragnarok. 

Nida was just one of those people who was unconstitutionally unable to admit that he had ever done anything wrong or had any negative behavior to face up to. It was only those around him who were at fault.

Glancing behind him as if somebody had surely crept up on him in the last minute, Nida suddenly realized how fortunate this all was for him. Only Raijin would so careless as to leave this much money thoughtlessly stowed under a chair cushion and it might never even be missed. If it were, Raijin would be blamed. He was owed this money, he was positive or he wouldn't have found it, Nida reiterated to himself.

Nida sprang from the chair and ran to the ladder. Being careful to clutch the jar close to his body for complete safety, he pulled himself up the ladder with one hand and two feet. After Nida reached the next level, he immediately headed to one of the passageways that were located on the next two levels and disappeared into the walls. He laughed aloud maniacally to himself once he felt safe within the security of his hiding place.__

~*~

After sleeping for several hours Andrea woke up from the sedative. _Ow_! _My head_, she thought blaming the medication, not remembering that she had deliberately slammed her head into the walls while under the effects of Rinoa's _confuse _spell. The doctor had ordered an X-Ray of her taken to check on possible concussion and the technician being a wise ass reported 'nothing was found'.

The dark-haired beauty glanced to her right and espying Rinoa lying in the bed next to her suddenly remembered exactly what had happened. Because she had heard nothing else since her arrival from Trabia except for what a cold fish Squall Leonhart was, she'd decided to seduce the handsome commander as a way to assert her femininity. 

Andrea had no way of knowing that Rinoa had been nearby. 

Rinoa's sheet had slipped to the floor leaving her covered only in her small bikini and reindeer's tail. Rinoa suddenly appeared so fragile that Andrea's heart went out to her. _I was wrong_. _I had no right to do that_. At least the medical staff had the common sense to remove those ridiculous antlers. Andrea had heard all about the commander's atrocious behavior towards his lady friend and she made a vow to herself right then that she would help Rinoa any way she could.

As if the young sorceress had read Andrea's thoughts, Rinoa regained consciousness and turned to look at Andrea with an accusing glare. "Oh, so it's you," Rinoa said in a hoarse voice.

"Rinoa, I know we really don't know each other, but I want to apologize for my behavior," she explained.

"Well, I should hope so!" Rinoa replied haughtily, but there was a certain light in Rinoa's eyes that led Andrea to believe she had been forgiven.

"You have to admit," Andrea said, "even being green Squall is pretty appealing."

Rinoa laughed. "Yeah, except when he lets his personality get in the way."

"That's what I heard," admitted Andrea who was also laughing. Rinoa reached across from her bed to Andrea with her left hand and touched her on the arm. "I like you, how'd you like to go get some coffee after we get out of here."

"Sure, I'd like that. Do you think I could help with the decorating committee?"

"For sure!" said Rinoa. "The more the merrier, I always say."

Just then one of the nurses entered the room. "Well, you two seem to be getting along famously. I'll go get the doctor and let her know you're awake. You should be out of here in no time."


	11. Monday, December the eleventh

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Eleven

Monday, December the Eleventh

Monday morning Nicole was forced to open the library on her own because Zell had taken on a morning fighting group. Nicole was happy he was doing so well but she hated entering the gloomy, empty Library by herself. Being a Mystic Hyneist, Nicole believed she lived in a world filled with disembodied spirits and she was afraid of them. This was the real and secret reason that Nicole always had her current boyfriend with her.

As quickly as she could, Nicole flipped on every light in the library and looked around into every corner and shadow to assure herself she was alone. Nicole believed Quistis, she did believe the ex-sorceress' knight resided at Garden, but not in the flesh. Nicole was convinced they were being haunted by Seifer's restless spirit.

Nicole kept her beliefs to herself, however. Mystic Hyneism was often scoffed at so its practitioners usually kept to themselves and had created something of a secret society. Nicole didn't want to be laughed at but she knew the situation was soon to reach critical mass. Only offering him gifts of sweets and milk each night until solstice eve when a special ritual must be performed at sundown would appease Seifer's tormented soul.

Setting out books for the monthly book and magazine sale, Nicole pondered just how she was going to broach the truth of the Seifer situation with her friends. She was sure they would all be resistant to the idea but Nicole had faith they would all be swayed once their ears heard the Truth.

Nicole checked her watch, only five minutes until the library officially can open for the day, thank Hyne! Her nerves were frazzled beyond belief, she was sure she could feel Seifer's eyes on her at that very moment. Tami, Nicole's coworker, should have reported for duty fifteen minutes prior. Where could she be? Nicole couldn't wait much longer and the magazines still needed to be put out before the throng of students came to shop. _Oh well, _Nicole decided, _I'll just be quick about it._

Grabbingherpurse, Nicole scurried away to the lady's room. Moments later, a very tired appearing Tammy reported for duty. Correctly assuming Nicole to be where she was, Tami slumped down into one of the reading room's chairs to catch whatever seconds of beauty sleep she could. She only awakened ten minutes later because the impatient students were pounding loudly on the library doors. 

Lazily making her way across the library Tami complained, "Okay, Okay, hold your chocobos!" _I wonder where Nicole is? I don't wanna have to handle this crowd all by myself, I might break a nail on the cash register._

"Hey, where are the magazines?" asked Irvine. He periodically volunteered at the library because the staff employed mainly females.

"Right there," Tami smiled up at Irvine while pointing at several unopened boxes, "but I can't seem to find Nicole anywhere." Her voice took on a helpless, plaintive tone. "Irvine, would you please fill in for me so I can go find Nicole?" The truth was, Tami was craving a cigarette and simply didn't feel like setting out all the magazines and she knew Irvine was a pushover.

"Why certainly, Tami," he tipped his hat at her and began to unpack the magazines. 

Meanwhile Nicole was in the private ladies room of the library. Thankfully it was only open to the staff and students by permission. Nicole would have been caught in this embarrassing position. She had been horrified and panicked to discover that she had been glued to the toilet seat but was able to calm herself enough to realize that sooner or later Gerri would come back for one of her numerous cigarette breaks. Nicole hated to ask the prissy Tami for anything, but she would do anything to keep the girl quiet.

Instead of crying or getting angry at the situation, Nicole saw it as further evidence of Seifer's haunting of Garden. "Oh Seifer…" she said aloud, sadly.

Although there was no direct secret entrance into the ladies room, if Seifer stood in the right place he could hear anything spoken aloud there. He'd been waiting there to listen to the shrieks and screams of the first girl that used the toilet. He'd been badly disappointed that his victim had only called for help a few times before giving up. Certain she would suffer humiliation when found, Seifer patiently waited at his listening post for that magic moment.

When Nicole said his name aloud Seifer froze. _How can she know I am here? Is she psychic? She'd never expressed belief in Quistis' stories before. Why? Does she know something?_

Nicole continued talking to him. "Don't you know these pranks won't get you anywhere?"

Seifer immediately recognized Nicole's voice. She was such a goody-goody Seifer was glad she had been the one to get glued. It still bothered Seifer that she seemed to have knowledge of him, rather than just believing in the rumors. 

"You'll never get into heaven this way, you know," she went on to say.

_Oh great Hyne, _Seifer smirked to himself, _she's giving me a religious lecture. Leave it to Zell to get involved with a religious nut. _

"I understand the afterlife is a scary place, Seifer, but this is a learning experience for your soul. Please consider stopping this deplorable behavior and start helping people with your ghostly power!"

Seifer had his hand across his own mouth, doing his best not to make any noise. _Oh yes! She thinks I'm a ghost! This is too perfect!_

Nicole sighed and rested her head against the stall wall. She heard the door to the ladies room open and immediately Nicole called out. "Tami? Is that you?"

"Nicole? What are you doing back here?"

Nicole flushed red as she confessed, "Um… Tami… I'm glued to the toilet."

"What?" Tami peeked into the stall and began to laugh. 

"Yeah, ha-ha," said Nicole sarcastically, "very funny."

Tami pulled out a package of Ochuls, a cheap brand of cigarettes, and lit one. She would much prefer to smoke Malboros but they were just too expensive. Tami took a long drag and leaned against the wall as a plan began to formulate in her little mind. Smoking Ochuls were an acceptable sacrifice to make for working such an easy job, and it was just about to get easier.

"You know, Nicole, I think I'd better yell for help!"

Nicole's eyes opened wide. "Oh no! Please! Don't do that!"

"Then however shall I get you unstuck?" Tami asked sweetly.

"Go get Quistis," she answered, "she'll know what to do… and hey? Who's watching the front?"

Tami shrugged. "Oh, I got Irvine to do it."

_That pig, _thought Nicole, but let it slide. "Please go get Quistis and don't tell anybody about this, please?" Nicole begged the lazy girl who held Nicole's pride in the palm of her hand.

Tami chuckled and savored her cigarette. "What's in it for me?"

_I knew this would happen. _"What do you want?"

"I want to keep this job," explained Tami, "and I know you have been complaining about my performance. I want you to only give good reports about me, no matter what I do." She smiled smugly at Nicole through the crack in the stall door.

Nicole felt she had no choice and agreed without thinking further. "Damn you, Seifer!" she cursed when Tami had gone off to find Quistis. A malevolent laugh echoed through the room. Nicole shuddered and blanched. She knew she needed to talk with her friends as soon as was humanly possible.

~*~

After having seen the damage done to poor Nicole, Quistis new she could no longer wait to solve this Seifer dilemma. Not knowing where else to turn because no one seemed to believe her, Quistis decided to pay a call to Edea at her and Cid's private apartment. _Maybe Matron will have some idea of what to do_, hoped Quistis.

 "Who is it?" Edea called out in response to Quistis' knock.

When Quistis explained who she was, the former sorceress quickly invited her to enter. Edea offered her a hug and greeted, "How wonderful to see you. How have you been? Is everything alright?" Matron, who had known Quistis for most of her young life, observed immediately the tight lines of stress that were not usually visible on her normally beautiful features.

"No, it isn't," Quistis admitted quietly.

"It's this Seifer thing, isn't it?" the older woman asked. Seeing the shocked expression on the young woman's face, Edea explained, "Cid filled me a little on this whole thing. Come on, I need to finish unpacking." Quistis followed her only mother figure into the small bedroom.

"Feel free to sit anywhere," Edea invited as her suitcases were lying open on her side of the king size bed. The former sorceress began to lift clothing from a suitcase, smoothing each out as best as possible before hanging it.

"So what's on your mind specifically about this?" Edea asked.

Quistis examined the serious expression on Edea's face. "You believe me don't you… about Seifer I mean?"

"Well, I don't exactly disbelieve you, Quistis," Edea said evasively.

"Huh?" Quistis was thoroughly confused, though she knew instinctively that her mother figure was hiding something.

Edea sighed. "Cid and I truly want to believe that Seifer is alive. That poor boy has never really had much of a chance," she said softly.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not, Quistis," she explained, "What I mean is Seifer has never given himself much of a chance. As long as he's alive I believe he still has a chance for happiness."

"Okay…" Quistis looked dubious.

Edea continued to unpack and she explained gently, "Look Quistis, everyone forgave me and Seifer was only following MY orders. I am disgusted that Seifer is being used as a scapegoat by so many. I am likewise disgusted that the board of directors has chosen to cover up the fact that he ever existed!"

"Board of directors?"

"Yes," said Edea, "what few know is that when Norg died his half of Garden was divided up equally among the largest shareholders. Cid and I are forced to answer to a board of directors. As bad as they are, however, they are better than Norg."

"Oh…"

"Never mind that!" Edea laughed ruefully. "Let's assume that Seifer is indeed secretly among us, what did you want to ask me about?" 

"Well, said Quistis. "Seifer appears to be attempting to disrupt everybody's holiday fun with cheap tricks rather than actually causing anyone physical harm," replied Quistis, carefully keeping Nicole's incident to herself. "I'm trying to imagine what exactly his 'payoff' is or what he is trying to accomplish through all his tomfoolery."

Edea looked up from her clothes handling and smiled. She placed one of the suitcases on the floor and sat in its' stead. "Do you remember anything from back then?" she asked kindly.

"No, not really," Quistis answered shaking her head. "Just bits and pieces, now and then."

"That's what I thought," Matron explained. "Well when Seifer first got there....

_"Who's that, Matwon?" a very small blond-haired boy asked._

_"His name is Seifer and he's going to be staying with us. You need to be nice to him and I'm sure he'll be nice to you," Edea answered._

_"Seifer?" the child said too loudly as it turned out. "What kind of crazy name is that?"_

_"Now Zell," Matron cautioned, "everybody can't have a name as traditional as yours. And please be nice, it's Solstice Eve."_

_As it turned out, it was too late for Zell to be nice to the newcomer as Seifer launched himself across the uneven ground jumping onto Zell and pummeling him. As he struck him again and again with his balled up little four-year-old fists, Seifer exclaimed, "So you think my name is funny, do you? I'll show you how funny I am! It's MY birthday and I can do what I want!"_

The woman jumped between the two boys, pulling each away with a different arm and then holding them separate from each other. "Please Seifer! Zell! Tonight is Solstice Eve, so no more fighting."

_Seifer wrenched himself free and ran a number of feet away. "Solstice Eve! Who cares?" he screamed. "My mommy and daddy are dead! My home was burned down! I hate Solstice Eve and I hate all of you too!"_

_Running further away with tearing streaming down his little cheeks, Seifer cried out, "I just want things to be the way they used to be. I wanna go home!"_

Quistis dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief that she pulled out of her skirt pocket after Edea had finished speaking.

"That certainly explains a lot, doesn't it?" Quistis asked rhetorically. The young woman stood up. "Thank you so much, Matron. That really helps me understand what Seifer is going through right now."

"What about you?" Edea asked.

"Me? What about me?"

"Cid said that he thought you were having a difficult time yourself with the holiday season."

"Well, I have to admit I've felt better," Quistis confessed.

Edea inquired, "Do you recall when you entered Garden?"

Quistis thought back for a moment and then just shook her head.

Edea said, "Cid told me about the first time he saw you after you were adopted by the Trepes." Edea motioned for Quistis to reseat herself and continued speaking. 

_An average size man, with longish brown hair who was wearing glasses was standing in a large room filled with outlandish items that no one quite understood. This was his 'office.' He looked to be his in late thirties and was beginning to develop a small paunch due to rich food and not enough exercise._

_A knock suddenly came upon his door. "Come," he invited._

_The door opened and a teenage girl with black hair styled in a page cut entered the room. She was rather short, had a trim little figure and was not unattractive._

_"Yes, Xu," the man said. "What is it?" he asked._

The teenager, whose name was apparently Xu, answered, "A family just brought the new girl. Should I bring her up to meet you?"

_Cid shook his head ruefully and murmured, "On Solstice Eve too, what is the matter with people?"_

_"What, sir?" the teenager asked somewhat confused._

_"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking out loud. No, I'll come down and meet her. We're going to have our annual holiday meal soon anyway. What's her name?"_

_"Quistis, I believe, sir," replied Xu._

_"Quistis, hmmm? Seems like that name is familiar to me. Oh, well, let's go meet this Quistis."_

Quistis stood stunned. "Now that you mention it, I do remember that. I felt so badly to just be dumped off like that on a holiday. I wonder why I didn't recall it? The use of GFs, you think?"

"There is a mechanism called denial," explained Edea, "in which we repress memories we find too painful to deal with right then. I think that's what happened to you."

Quistis nodded and gulped back the tears that were threatening to erupt. She took a deep breath. Desiring to change the uncomfortable subject, she said, "I just wish I could figure out how he's managed to get around without being seen."

"You're a smart girl Quistis, I know you'll figure it out." Edea said pointedly to Quistis. "Just look a bit closer." The former sorceress reached out, took Quistis hand and pressed something cold and metallic into Quistis' palm.

Looking down, the beautiful young teacher was surprised to see that her Matron had given her a large brass key. "What's… this for?"

"Sometimes it's best to find things out on your own." 

Completely bewildered, but not wanting to push her luck with Edea, Quistis said, "Thank you so much, you've really been a big help."

Edea smiled and replied, "That's what I'm here for and I strongly suggest you speak to Cid also. I'm sure he can help you. I'll tell him you'll be by."

"Okay, I shall," Quistis promised, the stress lines across her features having disappeared for the time being.

Edea walked her 'daughter' to the door, and as she exited, Edea said, "Just do me one small favor, Quistis?"

"What's that Matron?"

"If you do find Seifer… try to help him. For me?"

"I'll do my best," promised Quistis.

~*~

Irvine sat at a table in the corner of the coffee shop. Gone was his usually laughing and joking facade, and he sat solitary and morose. Around him the room was a hubbub of activity and happiness, as people sat together at different tables talking and laughing. 

On the far side of the shop Rinoa and Andrea stood painting a holiday mural on the wall. Irvine was impressed with how well done the painting appeared and the fact that Rinoa seemed to have some real talent. From where he was sitting, she certainly appeared to _be_ some real talent in some other areas as well, since she had worn the same outfit as on the previous day, flashing LCD light on her nose included. 

Earlier Irvine had managed to over hear the young sorceress explain to her new best friend that all of her other holiday outfits were in the laundry, plus Rinoa went on to explain she was expecting a new outfit via Estharian Express momentarily. The longer Irvine watched the two young women, the more he was struck with their resemblance to his other. _You know_, _they could be twins_, he thought. _How strange_.

Matt sat down in the chair across the table. "Say, how ya doing? You look as though you're still having problems with Selphie."

Irvine grimaced. "Good deduction, Sherlock. What was your first clue?" he asked sarcastically.

"Actually most people don't realize that Sherlock used induction rather than deduction," Quistis' boyfriend replied.

"Whatever," Irvine retorted. He knew that Squall had that particular phrase copyrighted, but assumed he could safely use it a few times a year without having to pay royalties.

"Well, you know what they say, a stitch in time saves nine," Matt pontificated.

Irvine frowned and started to speak to Matt in protest of any further blathering on his part when suddenly a song blared forth from the intercom. The recording was of the traditional tune and arrangement, but the normal voices had been removed and replaced with three people singing live.

                                    "Rinoa the Red nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose." 

_"Like a lightbulb."_

                                    _And if you ever saw it_, _you would even say it glowed."_

"Like a lightbulb" 

Almost the entire population of the coffee shop burst into laughter as soon the new wording was recognized. The only people not laughing were Irvine, who was too miserable to laugh at anything, Rinoa, and Andrea who watched in horror as the tips of Rinoa's Angel Wings burst forth on her back. She also noted her new friend appeared to be struggling with repeating some numbers. Matt was completely red-faced from exertion and was laughing the hardest and loudest of all.

                                    "_All of the other SeeDs used to laugh and call her names"_

_"Like bimbo."_

_                                    "They never let poor Rinoa join in any SeeDy games."_

"Like pocket hockey!" 

Andrea suddenly took complete charge of the situation. She took Rinoa by the hand and led her into the center of the coffee shop. Andrea suggested, "Come on, lighten up! It's a joke. Go with it, let's dance!" And she began to lead the young sorceress in some slow but silly dance steps.

                        "_Then one foggy Solstice Eve Night, __Squall came to say"_

"Whatever" 

_"Rinoa with your nose so bright, __won't you come with me in the Ragnarok tonight."_

_"Oooh-ahh, oooh-ahh."_

Rinoa threw her head back and quickly abandoned her budding anger into the silliness of dancing. Soon almost everyone in the coffee shop was up and dancing also.

"Then all the SeeDs loved her-" 

 The singing abruptly halted. "Bah, humbug!" growled a familiar voice. Click – the intercom was turned off. The population of the coffee shop ceased dancing and burst into spontaneous applause directed at Rinoa. Some people actually slightly bowed to her. "Oh thank you so much," Rinoa whispered to her new friend. "You saved the day." Andrea beamed in happiness in return to Rinoa.

On the lowest MD level Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin stood around the computer where they had been watching the coffee shop on the computer screen that came to them through the security camera. Raijin was still holding the tiny microphone that was linked to the intercom that they had been using to transmit their singing. Fujin leaned over and stopped the CD from playing the music of the holiday song.

"That girl ruined everything," Seifer snarled. "Who is she?"

"Got no clue, ya know," replied Raijin.

"Find her," Seifer ordered. "And when you do, I'm gonna massively mess her up."

Upstairs in the coffee shop the excitement was beginning to wind down. Matt declared, "That was wonderful. I don't know when I've laughed so hard."

Irvine looked glumly back at him. Matt attempted to say something worthwhile again. "He who hesitates is lost."

"Huh," replied the lonesome cowboy. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Irvine sat straight up in his chair. Finally something Matt had uttered had actually made sense to him and it seem to coincide with Selphie entering the coffee shop with Quistis at her side. "Oh, I got'cha," Irvine exclaimed standing up from his chair and crossing the coffee shop.

As soon as she and Selphie entered the room, Quistis could faintly hear Matt's voice calling to her through the din of the crowd. She refused to turn her head and possibly make eye contact with him, because she didn't particularly wish to see him right now and later she could say she didn't hear him.

Selphie and Quistis approached an open table in the far corner. Before they could even sit down Irvine was standing in front of them. He lowered himself to one knee and took Selphie by the hand. "Selphie," he solemnly asked. "Will you marry me?"

Selphie blushed bright crimson but whether it was caused by embarrassment or anger was in question until she exclaimed, "Marry you?! Are you crazy? We've never even gone on a real date!"

"Well, then," Irvine said, ignoring the fact that it was Selphie who had always claimed to never have the time to go on a real date, "go with me on a date."

"On a date?! I will not! I wouldn't go to a dogfight with you...you...you gigolo! Come, Quistis, the air is suddenly fetid in here."

She and Quistis quickly exited the coffee shop leaving Irvine still resting on one knee completely stunned and Matt calling out "Quissy" in their wake.  

After Rinoa and Andrea finished painting the mural in the coffee shop, the young sorceress invited her new friend back to her room to relax until the dinner hour. Rinoa was aghast when she entered her room with Andrea by her side to see a young man wearing a garish red jump suit of some sort hunched over one of her open bureau drawers.

"Hey there!" Rinoa called out completely startling the intruder who straightened up immediately and turned toward them. He was still clutching articles of clothing.

Stepping angrily towards him, Rinoa accused, "Who are you and what are you doing going through my underwear?" She yanked the bra from him that he had still been hanging on to, as if he still hoped he could retain at least one article.

"M-My name is Dart," he stammered.

"Dart?!" Andrea echoed. "Are you certain you heard your family correctly?"

The young man flushed. "I never knew my family much, but I was told that was my name."

"Okay, okay," Rinoa said impatiently tired of the discussion. "What are you doing in my room, besides running your grubby mitts through my drawers?"

"That's not fair, my hands are clean," he complained.

"We're not talking about your hands, you dolt!" Andrea suddenly cried out. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sent by Commander Leonhart to take down all these holiday decorations and restore the room to its previous drabness." It was true. Rinoa had taken the usually green and yellow motif, resembling spinach and summer squash, and turned her room into a veritable Holiday Land. Even Andrea was surprised. _I bet Rinoa could sell tickets for tours of this place_, she thought.

"Oh, you were, were you?" Rinoa said in response to the student's answer. Rinoa stepped purposely all around him as she spoke. He nervously attempted to keep his eyes locked on her at all times, besides trying to keep them in his head. The upperclassman had not seen Rinoa's latest outfit and it was quite obvious he approved.

Andrea, picking up on the student's sudden interest in Rinoa's outfit, declared, "I think he's a perv. He wasn't sent down here at all. He came on his own to steal your underwear. He probably puts it on late at night."

"No, no!" the young man protested reddening deeply. "I was sent down here by Commander Leonhart."

"To go through my drawers?" Rinoa interrupted.

"No, that not," he sheepishly admitted.

Rinoa continued, "I think you would be benefit from the doctor's sexual dysfunction group." The young man visibly blanched. Known around Garden as Perv 101, it was the kiss of death to your career to be placed in the group; plus no one outside of the group would have anything more to do with you.

"Please, not that," he pleaded. "I'll do anything, anything at all...just tell me."

"Okay," Rinoa quickly agreed, a malicious smile forming on her lips. "You are to go to the Commanders' bedroom. He never returns there until late at night. Trust me," she spoke ruefully. 

"Yes ma'am," he answered. 

"Here," the dark-haired woman continued while handing him a large box of holiday decorations. "Put these up in his room and then leave this note on his bed."

Rinoa bent over her desk and scribbled on a piece of paper, _Happy Holidays_, _love Rinoa_. Handing the upperclassman the note, Rinoa directed, "Come on, I'll go with you and unlock his room with my key." 

As the three young people left Rinoa's room, Andrea praised, "Oh, Rinoa. You are so devious, you're a joy to know."

Rinoa giggled, joyfully leading the way with her reindeer tail bobbing behind her.

Long after the Garden had quieted for the night, Squall finally retired to his bedroom. After he turned on his light and observed what had occurred there, his screams could be heard to echo all through the Garden and some say all the way down to Balamb.


	12. Tuesday, December the twelfth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Twelve

Tuesday, December the Twelfth

The main atrium was crowded with SeeDs and upperclassmen going from here to there as morning classes had just let out for the lunch hour. Many of them were quite surprised to espy Rinoa's latest decorating idea due to the sheer danger associated with it. 

The dark-haired young woman was hanging holiday lighting from the high ceiling with the help of Zell, who was steadying the twenty-five foot stepladder that she was standing on. They were also amused with Rinoa's latest holiday outfit. She wore a red velvet dress with white fur trim that created the wide lapels. A broad black belt cinched her waist, and below that the dress billowed out over a set of very wide hoops. Many of the onlookers were discussing just how she could manage to negotiate the ladder in a hoopskirt. 

The process was painfully slow as Rinoa had to drive a large metal staple from a staple gun every six to twelve inches to affix the wiring. After she had reached out as far as she could, the young sorceress would then have to come down the entire ladder to the floor and help Zell move it a couple of feet and then turn around and go right back up. They had already been hard at work with this for over an hour and only a third of the circle of lighting that Rinoa wanted completed was finished.

Rinoa was scheduled to meet Andrea for lunch in the cafeteria and she compulsively desired to have this entire job completed before then. This was causing her to take more and more dangerous chances as she was reaching out further and further from the ladder to continue stapling. She was attempting cut down on the number of trips she would have to make down the ladder and then back up.

Rinoa had just reached out further than she had attempted before to place a staple a good three feet away from the ladder. In fact, her only contact with the ladder was her right foot that was planted on the next to the top rung. Rinoa had managed to reach out that far by exerting extreme pressure with her arms against the ceiling. Just as she shot the staple from the staple gun over the wiring into the ceiling, two SeeDs that knew Zell from when they were upperclassmen together happened by and began to speak with him.

"Hey Zell," one of them, a redheaded youth named Zack, said. "We just saw Nicole in the lunchroom and she was wondering where you were."

"Oh no! I forgot all about that," Zell exclaimed. "She's gonna kill me and she's already mad at me." Zell, in his excitement over missing his lunch date with his girlfriend, forgot to maintain control of the ladder. It toppled over like a giant oak struck by lightning leaving Rinoa hanging onto the flimsy wiring twenty-five feet in the air.

"Hellllllllp!!!" she screamed in a voice that only Rinoa could. It incited everyone in the entire atrium into action except for the person for whom it was intended. Zell froze in his tracks unable to move in shock and chagrin.

Rinoa kept moving her hands quickly back along the lighting that had already been put up. As the staples pulled out under her weight, one by one, her long legs dangled like the clapper of a bell within her wide skirt. A vast number of male upperclassmen had run up to the scene of the impending accident. Their long necks craned upwards to the dome of the atrium directly under Rinoa. 

"That's a nice view," admitted one. 

"Yes, white with lace trim, aren't they?" agreed another. The group had to have good cooperation because they needed to be able to move quickly by silent consensus to remain directly beneath the young beauty. It was always good to see how their training to be SeeDs could pay such high dividends in an emergency.

Meanwhile Zell still stood rooted to his spot, mouth agape, staring upwards, brain struck cold, unable to begin to handle the ramifications of his latest disaster. Having heard Rinoa's screaming and recognizing that voice anywhere, Selphie came dashing up from the library corridor just as Rinoa was down to her last staple.

"Oh Zell! You're trying to kill Rinoa again!" She shoved the martial artist dislodging him from his trance. "Help me get this ladder back up!" Selphie commanded.

Too late! Rinoa came spiraling downward looking as if she were performing a special jumping trick of some sort. Many in the crowd didn't realize this wasn't a planned activity, and they thought the young sorceress had devised yet another way to celebrate the holidays. Zell continued to stand affixed, unable to move in any way, but Selphie turned away not having the heart to witness such an awful sight...and at holiday time to boot.

Luckily the skirt she wore acted as a parachute of sorts and softened Rinoa's landing as she splatted into the now huge and still growing crowd of upperclassman directly beneath her. The mass of peeping toms broke her fall completely leaving her undamaged and she slid off their bodies beginning with their heads then down their backs. Rinoa was standing firm once again on the Garden floor just as Squall came running up. 

The young sorceress was surprised to notice that the _zombie_ spell must have finally worn off and that he was no longer green. Rinoa looked at the commander disdainfully before tossing her hair and giving him her back with a loud "Hmmph!"

 "Come Selphie," Rinoa invited linking her arm through one of Selphie's. "We'll away to lunch." The two women sashayed from the scene while the crowd cheered uproarishly, most thinking they had witnessed a stunt of the first magnitude.

~*~

"Edea said you wished to talk to me about something concerning when you all were at the orphanage," Cid began after beckoning Quistis to take a seat in front of his desk.

"Yes." Quistis nodded. "Thanks for seeing me so quickly at such a busy time of year. I was wondering if there was something you possibly remembered about Seifer that would give me insight into what he is attempting to accomplish."

"Well, that's an unusual request," Cid mused.  He sat back in his comfortable leather chair and cast his mind back fifteen years. After a few minutes had passed, he spoke slowly, almost as if he were still formulating his response. "Looking back, I think at the time, everyone thought that Squall was a loner, but I think we were wrong. Squall always had Ellone and after she left, he always had you and Selphie looking after him. Edea, too, spent a great deal of time with him. The real loner was Seifer." 

Cid pulled out a chamois and began to buff his nails absently as he spoke. "I remember you attempted to help him as much as you could just as you did Squall, but he would push you away. By the way, I don't mean emotionally, I mean literally. He pushed you into the side of the building; he would push you to the ground. One day he actually pushed you all the way down the steps and into the water. Well, anyway you get the picture. Why, one day the little demon pushed you into our bedroom when Edea and I -."

Quistis interrupted the recollection by coughing loudly several times. "Oh, sorry," Cid apologized. "I feel that the basis of all Seifer's behavior began back then. He was so frightened that others wouldn't accept him that he never gave them a chance to accept him. Seifer would not only act in such a way that it was a foregone conclusion that his behavior would be rejected, but he also made it clear that he was rejecting them first."

"Therefore," Quistis said slowly, more as if she were thinking aloud rather than speaking to someone. "Being the one in control is very important to Seifer. He would rather reject people immediately and feel powerful, rather than give them the opportunity to reject him thereby casting him in the weaker position."

"Yes," agreed Cid. "I think you've hit on something there."

Quistis stood up to depart. "Thank you, Headmaster. You've been a big help."

Cid arose from his chair also. "You're welcome, Quistis. But there's one other thing," he added.

"What's that?" the young woman asked, naturally thinking Cid had remembered something more that would help her understand Seifer.

"You could have been describing yourself," Cid conjectured.

_I_'_m not like that_! Quistis' mind screamed defiantly.

"Oh, not to the extent Seifer is," Cid elaborated as though he could read her mind. "But you hold people at arm's length, never allowing them to really know you." He had circled around his desk to where he now stood before Quistis. He put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Who do you love, Quistis? And who do you allow to love you?" Cid inquired plaintively.

Appearing quite indignant at the Headmaster's accusation, Quistis retorted, "There's Selp-."

"No, Quistis," Cid interrupted not unkindly, shaking his head gently. "I mean, _love_..." -he emphasized the word _love _by gripping her shoulder gently- "with great passion...who do you trust unconditionally… that come what may they will never betray you?"

Tears from seemingly nowhere suddenly sprang to Quistis' eyes and the name Matt died aborning her lips. "No one," she whispered. 

Cid suddenly found himself in a terribly uncomfortable position as he tried to comfort Quistis. "Now, now… now, now…" was all Cid could say as the blond woman sobbed on his shoulder. He honestly hadn't realized his speech would cause this sort of reaction from Quistis.

When she was finished, Quistis dried her eyes and looked sheepishly at Cid. "Sorry," she mumbled, blushing.

"Oh no, Quistis," comforted Cid, "we've known each other far too long to be embarrassed over emotional matters."

Quistis smiled slightly. "Thanks." She was still embarrassed and edged her way to the door.

"You're very welcome, my dear," said Cid. "And if you need anymore help just call on me." He smiled at the teenaged instructor kindly.

"I will," she said and pulled the door closed behind her. Taking in a shuddery breath, Quistis made her way down to the coffee shop.

"Every time a light bulb burns out an angel gets his wings," Nicole was saying to Rinoa, Andrea and Selphie when Quistis arrived. "That's why," she continued, "so many holiday lights go out at inopportune moments… more angels earn their wings around this holy time of year than any other.

Quistis took a seat at the table and asked, "Ummm… what on earth are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, hi Quisty," said Rinoa, "Nicole was just telling us about Mystic Hyneism."

"Yeah," said Selphie, "it's really cool!"

_Oh great, _thought Quistis, _all we need is for Rinoa to get involved in a bizarre fringe religion. _

"I'm a goddess!" announced Rinoa with a wide smile.

"Well, not exactly, Rinoa," said Nicole. "Sorceresses are holy people to us because you are the embodiment of Hyne's power on the planet."

Rinoa nodded. "And that makes me a goddess!"

"Ummm… I guess so," relented Nicole, not wanting to argue. She was just happy her friends were open to the idea and not ridiculing her religious beliefs.

Quistis had nothing constructive to say, and not being one to put down another person's beliefs she just remained silent. She savored her mochachino as she listened to the conversation, which only grew more bizarre.

"So how do angels earn their wings after death?" questioned Andrea. 

"By doing good deeds for the living," said Nicole matter-of-factly.

Selphie scooped up a finger full of whipped cream from her hot chocolate and slurped at it thoughtfully. "Is that what GFs are? Just spirits helping out people so they can get into heaven?"

"Oh no," said Nicole, "Guardian Forces are really fallen gods." She took a sip of her coffee and went on to explain, "You see, after the other gods tricked humans into stealing Hyne's power, Hyne used what was left of her strength to turn the offending gods into slaves to the people that now bore her power."

"Wait a minute," said Quistis, "I thought Hyne gave sorceresses her power as a trick."

Nicole nodded. "That's the popularly accepted myth," she agreed. "But think about it, Quistis, why would any god give up her power willingly? And how is that a trick?"

"But," Quistis argued, "the story also said that Hyne kept the stronger part of her power to herself. Wait, isn't Hyne a _he_?"

"Gods have no gender, Quisty. _He _or _she _is irrelevant," Nicole informed her before explaining, "The stronger power that Hyne maintained was her wisdom, no one can steal _that. _Wisdom is developed over time." 

"Hmmm…that's definitely something to think about," said Quistis. Some of what Nicole was saying was making sense, Quistis had to admit. _But that light bulb thing is just too much. _"But wait… what about the part about Hyne stealing the children of the people?"

"Lies," said Nicole bitterly. 

"So what's Hyne doing now?" asked Rinoa. Quistis could see that the sorceress' eyes had an odd glow of fanaticism to them. The instructor shivered in spite of the warmth of the coffee shop.

"Well, according to the Book of Hyne," explained Nicole, "after her power was stolen there was nothing Hyne could do for her people except share her vast wisdom. But humans were too busy fighting over her power to listen so she went to sleep."

"Who went to sleep?" asked Zell who had just jogged over to the table.

"Hyne," said Nicole.

Zell looked thoroughly perplexed. "Huh?" 

"Zell," said Rinoa, whose smile indicated she had forgiven him for the earlier mishap, "did you know that every time a light bulb burns out it means an angel has gotten his wings?"

Zell chuckled. "Oh no… did you go to that new age shop that just opened in Balamb? I heard they have a whole section dedicated to that silly new religion."

Nicole flushed. "Silly? New religion?"

"Yeah," Zell continued taking absolutely no notice of Nicole's obvious distress, "Mystic Hyneism, I think it's called. Have you ever heard anything so dumb as that light bulb thing?"

Quistis hid her face behind her hand and looked through her fingers at Nicole who already appeared ready to explode. Rinoa, Andrea, and Selphie were fidgeting in their seats, unsure how to react to Zell's ridicule.

"I mean," said Zell, still laughing, "what happened before there were light bulbs?" -chuckle- " Did fires go out or something?" -guffaw- "Or maybe there were no angels back then either. Maybe angels and light bulbs were invented at the same time."  Unable to contain his laughter any longer, the martial artist clutched at his stomach and collapsed into a nearby chair.

"I have had enough!" screeched Nicole, whose face was a deep red. Zell immediately stopped laughing and looked up in surprise. "I'll have you know that Mystic Hyneism is probably the oldest religion still practiced on this planet. And that means it is the truth!"

Tossing her pigtail, Nicole said to the other women at the table, "Come, my spiritual sisters! We will adjourn to my room where I will read to you from the Book of Hyne."

Quistis soon found herself forcibly dragged by Rinoa and Selphie, while Zell looked on with an expression of utter confusion.

~*~

Seifer sat at a brand new writing desk that had been purloined from one of the Garden storerooms. He was hard at work filling out some official appearing forms. For each new form he would choose a pen with a different color or shade of ink than the previous one and signing them from a list of names that he had on the table before him. Being an expert forger, he took a great deal of time to disguise his handwriting from form to form; on some of them he wrote in huge sprawling loops and on others he would print in tiny anal-retentive letters. There was a large stack of already completed forms sitting to his left.

Raijin and Fujin came walking up to the table after arriving at the MD level via the ladder. Raijin was carrying a large carton from which steam was arising. "Seifer, we brought dinner, ya know. What'cha doing?"

Without glancing up, Seifer answered, "Filling out official sighting reports." The ex-knight spoke pleasantly for a change. He loved filling out forms of false sightings of himself because he knew Commander Puberty was so scrupulous in his duties that he would spend hours reading each one thoroughly.

Raijin set the food down on the dining table and crossed to Seifer. "Lemme see," he said picking up one of the finished forms and reading aloud. "_Seifer Almasy was observed in the women's shower room with a video camera directly following girls' physical training class. He told us if we wanted the tape we needed to pay him five thousand Gil_. Signed, _Ophelia Tyttiis_."

"Seifer, did you really do that?" Raijin inquired in confusion. Before Seifer could answer, Fujin kicked Raijin hard in the shin. "Ow! What'dya do that for, ya know?"

Seifer completed another form and laid it on the stack of forms that were finished. He glanced up and asked, "What did you find about that she-devil who is hanging around Rinoa?"

Raijin made a supreme effort to pull himself together and to give his report in a businesslike fashion. "Her name is Andrea Kettleway. She's seventeen years old, ya know. Apparently some people discovered her in a bassinet by the side of the road in Deling when she was approximately three days old. They raised her until age six and then having many children of their own and great difficulty supporting them, ya know, because of the depression following the First Sorceress War they took her to Trabia Garden. Her and Selphie were friends, ya know and she just transferred here from Trabia through Selphie's help. That's it, ya know."

Seifer looked at his friend, disciple, and cohort in wonderment. "That was a very good report," he finally said. "Good job, Raij," he praised.

"Well, ya know, I used one of those white pages private detective agencies. I charged it to Cid's credit card, ya know."

"Haha!" Seifer guffawed. Standing up from the table, he suggested, "Let's eat. What'd you get?"

"**HOT DOGS**," Fujin answered.

"Oh."

As they ate, Seifer explained what he learned of Nicole and her belief in Mystic Hyneism. When Seifer finished eating, signified by his pushing his plate and standing up from the table, he reached into the deep pocket of his long military coat and pulled out several paperback books. Flipping them to Raijin, Seifer ordered, "Find me some stuff that'll scare her, I'm going to disguise myself as a ghost."

"Where did you get these, Seifer, ya know?" Raijin asked holding up paperback copies of _Hamlet_, _MacBeth_, and some other Shakespearean titles.

"I liberated those from Quistis' room. She'll never miss them since she'll never play anything other than a candle-bearer or a maid because of Rinoa getting all the good parts. Mwahaha!"

"Seifer," Raijin asked. "Why do you keep doing that? It's scaring us, ya know."

"I don't why know myself, Raij. I'll try to hold it down, it's worrying me a little too."

Hours later, Seifer had completed his preparations. He had covered himself with a phosphorescent spray that was marketed to be used for plays or such times at the Sorceress' Sabbath in October. The blond prankster was also planning to use at least one hero drink (even though they were frightfully expensive), which would cause him to appear as a shimmering, transparent wraith. 

"Here ya go, Seifer," Raijin said handing him a short list of quotes.

"Thanks." Seifer was preoccupied with searching the Garden master database in order to locate and memorize the placement of the secret entrance to Nicole's room. _Ain_'_t technology grand_? he thought with a wolfish grin

 "Wish me luck," Seifer declared preparing to leave the MD level.

"Good luck!" Raijin called after him.

 _Luck_? thought Fujin. _Since when does Seifer think he needs luck_?

Seifer moved quickly through the passageways in the walls. Although once he thought he heard the sound of Nida's voice somewhere, the self-made specter knew that had to be wrong. Nida was long gone from the Garden. 

All was silent in Garden as Seifer stepped into Nicole's room and loomed over her. Nicole was sleeping soundly and mumbling something incomprehensible. Seifer held his cheat sheet of quotes cupped in his right hand and he began to moan in a low voice, "Oh Nicole, Nicole, help me."

The young woman sat straight up in her bed, every hair on her body standing on end. "Ekkkk!" Nicole began to scream.

Reading from his paper, Seifer intoned, "Beware the Ides of March."

"Ekkkk!" Nicole continued to cry out. She suddenly stopped and asked, "What are the Ides of March?"

_That dumb Raijin_. _That_'_s from Julius Caesar_. "Oh, never mind," Seifer explained. "That was wrong. Hang on."

"Okay," Nicole agreed.

Seifer began to moan again. "My hour is almost come, when I to sulph'rous and tormenting flames must render up myself."

"Oh no!" Nicole cried out. "Ekkkk!" The young woman suddenly decided that discretion was the best part of valor and she bolted from the room so quickly it was all Seifer could do to jump from her path.

Realizing that the other young women on the floor would leave their rooms to discover what all the excitement was, Seifer decided it was time for him to disappear...and that he quickly did.

Nicole was soon surrounded by young women who had come tumbling out of their rooms at the very first sound of her screams. Nicole was shaking uncontrollably and continually racked with sobs.

Selphie attempted to hug her, although Nicole appeared to be inconsolable at the present time. "What's wrong, Nicole?" she asked in a soothing voice attempting to calm the young woman down enough to discover what horrible thing had transpired. 

As most people have a tendency to picture his or her own worse fears when someone is mysteriously upset or frightened, Selphie's imagination suddenly began to form a twisted picture. She imagined that Irvine had mistakenly broken into Nicole's room on a search for Selphie herself. Although Selphie's room wasn't located on this wing, she had agreed to sleep over in Rinoa's room so they could continue talking about Mystic Hyneism late into the evening. In Selphie's morbid fantasy Irvine wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing and was demanding immediate sex. Selphie began to feel uncomfortably warm and flushed.

Also surrounding the hysterical young woman and attempting to offer their solace was Reba, Shana, and Rinoa. Andrea was also there as she had been spending almost twenty-four hours a day with Rinoa since their run-in over her flirting with Squall. Quistis stood in the back of the immediate group. She was just as concerned as the other young women, but she felt as though the women in front could handle the situation just as well or even better than she could.

Rinoa entreated, "Slow down and take deep breaths." She was becoming frightened that Nicole was going to begin hyperventilating and then pass out. Finally after a matter of minutes had passed Nicole calmed down enough to speak in a halting fashion.

"It...uph... was...S-Seifer," she stammered.

"Oh no," gasped Shana. "How horrible! Seifer was in your room?"

_Finally! _thought Quistis, _Someone else believes me!_

"You had a nightmare didn't you, Nicole?" asked Selphie, her face flushed from her continued imaginings of Irvine naked, preparing to ravage a young innocent woman with his masculine virility.

"Uh-uh, it was really Seifer!"

"Did he try to assault you?" asked Reba with a glimmer in her eye.

"No, no!" Nicole exclaimed shaking her head vigorously.

"Oh, how horrible," Reba said with a disappointed tone, "he didn't try to assault you."

While several of the young women glanced at Reba with strange looks, Rinoa snickered and ducked her head.

"No, no! It wasn't Seifer himself," Nicole explained.

"If it wasn't Seifer, who was it?" Selphie demanded.

"It was Seifer," Nicole said.

As she observed Selphie becoming frustrated with this seeming semantic problem, Rinoa asked, "What are you saying, Nicole?"

"He was a ghost!" Nicole finally said with a gasp.

"A ghost!" echoed Shana and Reba.

"Get out of here," Quistis said sarcastically.

"No, really," Nicole insisted. "He was a ghost and he said he was preparing to be sent to hell!"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Rinoa.

"Well, that figures," Shana said. "If anyone deserves to, it's him."

"Oh, don't say that," Nicole implored. "No one deserves that. He seemed so lonely."

_I_'_m sure that'_s the first thing accurate thing she_'_s said tonight_, Quistis thought bitterly. _

Selphie turned to Quistis with a satisfied expression on her face. "There you see, Quistis! Seifer isn't living here! It's his ghost that's been causing all the trouble!"

"Whatever," muttered Quistis, walking away in disgust.

_Why will they believe Nicole that Seifer is a ghost_, _but not me that he is living in Garden_? 


	13. Wednesday, December the thirteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Thirteen

Wednesday, December the Thirteenth

Quistis ate with Matt at a table in the back of the cafeteria while Zell and Irvine sat quietly talking at another table. It was an hour after the last shift for lunch had been dismissed. Ordinarily most of them would already be back at work, but amazingly Selphie had somehow convinced Cid to give everyone a half a day off citing all the work that still needed to be done to prepare for Winterfest, which was presently only ten days away. The blonde woman realized instinctively that Squall didn't know about it or he would have vetoed the idea immediately.

"Quisty, why so quiet?" Selphie cried out over the din of the holiday music that Rinoa somehow was currently flooding the Garden with. The Garden Festival chairwoman was standing over an adjacent table working on the proposed program for Winterfest that was spread out in front of her. Selphie had managed to sell spots in the program to various businesses in Balamb to increase the already overblown budget, and add to the next festival's kitty. This was the first year that anyone had even attempted to make money this way much less actually accomplish it. Selphie was so persistent she even got Cid to buy a spot for Garden!

"Oh, just thinking," Quistis answered distractedly. She had been remembering the scene in her homeroom that took place three hours previously. Shana and Linnea had both been openly weeping when they passed the copies of their new emails to the instructor. The new material had been so blatantly obscene that it caused Quistis to flush uncomfortably even now just thinking about it.

Although this time someone might have made a mistake, she realized. Under email details, Quistis noticed it read that the email supposedly originated from a site called 'The Chicks of Balamb.' She wished she could be online right now using Goggle Search to run this latest clue down, but Selphie had insisted she remain with her to help out with the Festival Committee.

Suddenly the holiday music that had been blaring from the various speakers around the Garden ceased and was replaced with three obviously phony falsetto voices. "Ho! Ho! Ho! We're the Holiday Hos. If you would like to give a holiday treat to yourself or one of your loved ones, come visit us in Balamb. We usually hang out at 1375 Main Street in Balamb City. Drop by whenever you want to take pot luck or call ahead to make an appointment at 555-1777."

"What the hell!" Zell cried out, jumping up from his chair. 

"Shhh!" Irvine cautioned. "I want to hear this."

As Selphie who had overheard her would-be-playboy boyfriend glared at him in anger, the message continued. "So remember...call the Holiday Hos to have some real fun at the holidays."

Quistis was struggling to no avail to hide her merriment at the message that she was sure originated with Seifer. Matt blustered, "I can't believe you find something so blatantly immoral to be funny, Quissy."

As she answered, her attention was divided between her boyfriend and the look of absolute horror on Zell's face. "Oh, come on, Matt. That was obviously a put-on by Seifer and quit calling me Quissy! I hate that name."

_Oh Hyne_, she thought. _I didn't mean that to slip out like that_. Looking at Matt, she observed that he appeared as if she had slapped him and she realized in actuality it would have been kinder if she had.

"Well, pardon me for breathing," he answered prissily.

"Oh no, Quistis! I absolutely refuse to listen to you talk about that Seifer crap again," Selphie protested. "Even if it is Seifer, it's his ghost doing it," she added quickly.

 Irvine began to laugh loudly himself.

"And it's not funny either, Irvine," Selphie snapped at him.

Quistis grew concerned about Zell's continued shocked expression and asked, "Is everything okay, Zell. What's wrong?"

"That's my parents' address and phone number," he answered in a tortured voice. "I'm gonna kill that Seifer, even if he's already dead," he vowed and he ran through the room on his way out of the cafeteria.

"Zell! Don't go off half-cocked," Quistis warned.

"Now see what you've done, Quistis," Selphie accused. "You convinced Zell that your nonsense is true."

"Oh, be quiet, Selphie," Quistis retorted. "Just because you don't believe me doesn't make it nonsense."

"Don't talk to Selphie like that!" Irvine hoped to get back in Selphie's good graces by attempting to stand up for her.

"You shut up too, Irvine!" Selphie snapped. "I don't need your help with anything."

"Zell, where are you going?" Quistis called after him.

"I'm going up to the Cid's office to have him make an announcement saying that last announcement was absolutely not true," the excitable SeeD answered and he fled the cafeteria.

"Now see what comes of you thinking sin is funny," Matt retorted, "Quistis." He emphasized her name with irony.

Quistis stood up and threw her arms down by her sides in frustration as she declared, "I'm leaving and don't bother looking for me until you all are willing to have an open mind and at least pay me a little respect with this."

With that said, Quistis turned and stalked from the cafeteria in an attempt to follow Zell and help him calm down before he got himself in serious trouble somewhere along the way. She left Matt, Irvine, and Selphie squabbling loudly among themselves.

~*~

Selphie entered the Grand Ballroom slightly later in the afternoon and couldn't believe her own eyes. There were at least fifty people helping to decorate the giant tree and the surrounding environs with Rinoa in the middle of them directing operations. Rinoa, as usual, was holding a giant container of coffee and the trashcan held at least a half dozen empty ones. Selphie was beginning to come around to Quistis' point of view that something needed to be done to curb the young sorceress' budding caffeine addiction before it was too late.

The huge tree was completely decorated; in fact, it appeared overly decorated. There were so many objects on it a person would have difficulty seeing the actual tree. But none of the heretofore mentioned was the basis of Selphie's current amazement. Rinoa was wearing a totally new holiday outfit and even given Selphie's limited psychological training, she was beginning to worry about her friend's sanity.

Rinoa was wearing a holiday wreath that was so large it completely covered her from just under the chin to down near the navel. The only evidence that she was wearing anything else beneath were the thin straps halter top on her back. Her midriff was bare and starting at her waist Rinoa was appareled in a chocobo drawn sleigh sans the chocobo that was suspended from her shoulders by suspenders. It looked to be six feet in length and Rinoa appeared to be sitting in it, although of course she wasn't. The pseudo-sleigh was made of papier-mâché, had been very meticulously painted with authentic colors and was decorated with actual working twinkle lights. The outfit was finished with an elf cap on her head that jingled when she moved and knee-high black leather boots. 

_Hyne_! Selphie thought. _I hope she stays away from the fountains_. The Winter Festival leader had a sudden vision of Irvine throwing a huge bucket of water on the papier-mâché sleigh just to see what might happen. _Oh no_! _Not in this story he won_'_t_.

Rinoa turned and saw Selphie for the first time. A huge smile split her features as she called out, "Hi Selphie! What do you think?"

Before Selphie could formulate an appropriate response, because she was still so befuddled by her friend's latest outfit, Selphie spotted Angelo drinking out of the huge bucket the tree was planted in. Striding over to it, Selphie was angered to see it was almost completely out of water.

"Rinoa, please keep your dog from drinking the tree water. If she drinks all the water, the tree will turn brown way before the Ball," Selphie declared.

"How do you know Angelo drank much water from there?" Rinoa asked defensively.

"Because it's empty, that's why. I don't think there's been any people drinking out of there, if that's what you mean."

"Maybe someone is coming up here at night and doing something to it as a prank," Rinoa attempted again to excuse her pet's behavior.

"Rinoa," Selphie replied petulantly. "I just saw Anal drinking out of there, so keep her away from the water. That's all I'm asking you to do."

"That's Angelo," Rinoa snapped.

"Whatever."

Rinoa turned and offered her back as an answer while Selphie continued to glare at her friend. Quistis had just entered the ballroom with Zell and had unhappily witnessed the entire episode. She wondered once again what was going to happen to all of them if things kept up like this.  

Feeling a tentative touch on her arm, Quistis turned to find Matt beside her holding a large wicker basket and a red plaid blanket.

"And what do you want?" the instructor snapped at her boyfriend.

Matt took a deep breath. "Ummm… I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and if you'll join me for dinner I'll never call you Quissy again," he blurted out.

Quistis sighed. She was very upset over the continued problems around Garden and just wasn't in the mood for a picnic. "Matt, I'm sorry," the blonde woman began to apologize, "I really just need to -."

"I remember when you couldn't wait to talk to me, Quistis, and it wasn't that long ago," the young man said forlornly, giving her his saddest puppy dog eyes. 

Quistis smiled in spite of herself. Matt could be utterly cute when he wanted to be. Not one to stay angry, Quistis accepted. With a smile, Matt took her hand and led her from the ballroom to the quad where he laid out the blanket beneath a tree.

For a long time the young couple ate in silence. As the sun set over the distant Balamb Mountains, Quistis said, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Yes," Matt agreed. "What does it make you think about?"

"Mmmm… the future I suppose."

Matt turned to her, his dark brown eyes picking up the warm glow of the setting sun. "What kind of future?"

Quistis shrugged. "Oh I don't know, I really don't think about the future all that much."

"Why not?"

She thought for a moment, fiddling with a tendril of gold that had fallen from her tight chignon. "I guess it's because my past has been so screwed up, I'm afraid to hope for anything because I just feel that something will happen to dash my dreams."

"That's all water under the bridge now," said Matt, putting his arm around Quistis' shoulder. "Why don't you think about it now. What do you hope for?"

"I just want to be happy."

"And what would make you happy?"

Silence fell between them as Quistis mulled over the question. "I guess… no, never mind, it's just silly." She uttered a nervous giggle.

"Please tell me?"

Quistis turned her face away. "I guess what I really want is a family… I know it sounds so stupid…"

"Not at all!" Matt smiled. "You really want children?"

"Yeah. I guess that's why I became an instructor, I've always loved children."

Matt chuckled contentedly. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"One of each, I suppose… it doesn't really matter." She snuggled into Matt's embrace; this was the Matt she remembered.

"What about names?" he asked, "What would you name a girl if you had one?"

That was something Quistis didn't need to think about. "Adirah. Matron once told me that was my mother's name, that's all I have of her."

"Oh." Matt had no idea how to respond to that. "What about a boy?"

Quistis laughed. "I guess I would name a boy after his father."

"That's sweet," he said. With a finger on her chin, Matt turned Quistis's face up to his and kissed her gently. It was a pleasant kiss, but it filled Quistis with no passion, no longing. It was just a kiss.

When Matt withdrew his lips, Quistis rested her head on his shoulder. She realized that what she liked about Matt was that he listened to her when she spoke. Every other man she'd dated would use conversation as a way to try and get her into an intimate position. Quistis never had to worry about that with Matt, he was just too sweet. 

And yet she found Matt's sweetness slightly insulting. Didn't he find her attractive? Where was the desire a man was supposed to have for his girlfriend? It seemed that Matt had about as much desire for her as she had for him. That was okay for the present, but would she be willing to settle for that in the long run?

_Hyne, why do I think so much? _Putting all thoughts aside for the moment, Quistis resolved to just enjoy moment. She would worry another day. For now she wanted to savor a moment that she had thought would never come again.

~*~

It was early evening and time for Selphie's weekly after dinner poker game. The regulars were there including Irvine and minus Squall. Even Matt and Nicole had joined in. Although it was just mostly a penny ante game, with the highest bet possible being a quarter gil, a person could literally lose his paycheck for the week if they hit a streak of bad luck. It could add up quickly.

The game was dealer's choice; in other words, the right to be dealer rotated clockwise around the table per hand and the dealer could choose the game, although it had to be poker. Most of the players usually chose five card draw, nothing wild, jacks or better to open, but Irvine would always insist on playing seven card stud, with the emphasis being on the word stud.

The players were all clustered around a card table that Selphie, being the head of the Garden Festival committee, was able to check out of the Garden supply room. Irvine had just returned to the table from the bathroom. Selphie dealt the next hand of five-card draw. The play fell to Irvine who was sitting to the left of her. 

"Open," he said throwing a quarter gil into the pot. Everyone followed his example.

As the players laid out the cards they wanted to discard, Selphie heard Angelo, who was with Rinoa since she went almost everywhere with her, slurping noisily out of the toilet bowl in the bathroom. "Rinoa," Selphie complained, "I wish you could keep your dog from drinking out of the toilet."

"Angelo gets thirsty, Selphie," Rinoa explained defensively. "If you don't like her drinking out of the toilet, put a bowl of water down."

"Why does she have to come anyway?" Selphie continued to whine.

"Because Angelo is my guardian and I never know when I might be falsely attacked," Rinoa answered not even bothering to look up from her hand.

"I want three cards, Selphie," Irvine pointed out attempting to prompt her to get on with the game.

"Excuse me, don't you mean he?" Nicole asked. "Isn't Angelo a boy's name?"

"You look under that dog and if you see anything that resembles a male dog, you can call the dog he," remarked Irvine, smirking.

"You don't have to be crude about it, you know," Nicole groused.

"Oh yes, he does," Selphie declared. "He has to be crude about everything."

"Hey, hey!" the longhaired young man protested.

"So how long have you been a Mystic Hyneist?" Rinoa asked Nicole.

"Almost since birth," Nicole explained. "Most people are born into it. I was, because my parents were. Although each year a few thousand people are baptized into our religion." She glared at Zell and said, "It's the world's fastest growing religion, you know." Zell didn't even look up for fear of destroying the fragile truce between him and his beloved Nicole.

"That's very interesting," Irvine spoke in a voice that struck a false note with everyone there. His attempt at ingratiating himself with the ladies only served to annoy everyone present. 

Selphie, noticing that Nicole had glanced sharply at him, advised, "Don't pay him any mind at all."

Everyone picked up the new cards to replace the ones they had discarded from their hands. "You know," Irvine said, "I don't know if I flushed the last time I used the commode." 

Right then Angelo chose that second to come wandering out of the bathroom coughing, "Akkk, akkk, akkk!" 

"Oh sweet Hyne!" Rinoa exclaimed, turning a sickly shade of green. "You're trying to kill my dog!"

"Calm down, Rinoa," Irvine pleaded.

"Okay for you, you cheater!" Selphie exclaimed, suddenly slamming her left hand down hard on Irvine's right hand as he was attempting to look at the cards she had discarded.

"Ow!" he complained. "Not so hard, Selphie."

"Cheaters never prosper," said Matt who had been strangely quiet throughout the game. Quistis slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration.

_Why does he always have to recite those inane clichés? _The blonde instructor thought.

"Irvine, you get out of here right now!" Selphie demanded.

"What if I don't want to?" Irvine asked.

"Then I'll make you!" Selphie threatened standing up.

"Oh, yeah?" Irvine also stood up towering over the brown-haired woman.

"No, I'll make you," Rinoa spoke quietly. She also stood and her eyes were blazing. "Want to try me?" she asked.

"Maybe another day," Irvine replied jamming his cowboy hat on his head. "See you folks around," he bantered while leaving the room quickly.

Nicole clapped her hands. "That was magnificent, Rinoa!" Selphie and Rinoa seated themselves at the table and continued their poker game. Quistis, who was trying not to laugh at the idiocy of the situation, bent her face down over her cards.

"Now what was this you were saying about people joining your religion?" Rinoa asked. As the group talked and the cards went around the table again and again, Selphie listened intently. _I don_'_t know if I believe any of this or not_, _but I_'_ll do anything to insure that this is the best Winter Festival ever_, she thought.


	14. Thursday, December the Fourteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 14

Thursday, December the Fourteenth

Final Fantasy VIII characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft.

While the posse was out on various errands, Seifer was down in their makeshift home lying upon the floor sifting through the things he kept stowed beneath his bed. His fingers made contact with a smooth leather object, and after locating the handle he withdrew his private attaché case.

Without rising, Seifer set the combination lock to Quistis' measurements (36-24-36) and released the locks. After sifting around through the contents he finally located a large manila envelope marked 'Xu'. The prankster peered into the envelope with a broad smile on his face.

_ These are classic, mwahaha! _ Seifer thought. _ Oh man, I thought I was going to stop doing that. This is going to be more difficult than I first thought. _

Seifer went to his computer, scanned the photographs and fiddled with the necessary details, such as resizing and improving the tint. After he was satisfied with the results, Seifer saved his work and connected his terminal with the Garden computer network. He typed in the password 'seedlingsRus' then picked up the telephone and dialed a number he knew well.

As Seifer waited for the page to load he spoke with the person who answered his call. "I'd like to make a very special request," the former knight said.

Seifer made his request as he logged into the Network as Squall and typed in the password 'aonir'...Squall was nothing if not predictable. After hanging up the phone, Seifer made quick work of changing the smiling picture of Xu in her nicest SeeD uniform on the welcome page to one from his special collection. There were actually several others of Cid's assistant and Seifer replaced those too.

Chuckling to himself, he thought, _ That'll get her for all those nasty things she said about me through the years. I only wish I could be there to watch the look on her face when she finds out about them. _

With his tasks for the day completed, Seifer could now relax. He turned on the radio to listen for his request then began flipping through video surveillance images on a nearby monitor in search of his ex girlfriend. After locating Rinoa who was in Selphie's tiny office speaking intently with the Festival chairwoman, and that she-devil look-a-like friend of hers. Irvine was also there crouched down in a corner doing something that Seifer could not make out.

Wishing that the security cameras also supplied sound, the blond man leaned back in his chair and watched. He was surprised to note that Rinoa was dressed normally for once.

What Seifer could not hear was that the three women were discussing which tasks for the Winter Festival should be tackled immediately that day. Andrea had just suggested that they concentrate some on decorating the main atrium since nothing more had been done to that area since Rinoa's near fatal accident two days earlier.

"That's a good idea," Rinoa agreed, clutching a jumbo coffee in her right hand as though it was her very lifeblood itself. "Why don't I-."

"Oh Great Balls of Fire!" exclaimed Selphie who had been working on the Garden Festival web page. Before anyone could respond to Selphie's outburst, they were interrupted yet again by the sound of the intercom clicking on.

A smooth disc jockey voice intoned, "We have a holiday dedication going out from Squall Leonhart to Rinoa Heartilly and to me this song epitomizes the holidays."

There was silence for a second and then suddenly the song blared out, "Bark, bark, bark...Bark, bark, bark...Bark, bark, bark...Woof, woof." It was the dogs' Jingle Bells song! The longer the song played, the more people began to laugh throughout the Garden until it sounded as if the entire establishment was ringing with it.

Even Selphie and Andrea were hard pressed to hide the evidence of their smiles. Andrea was extremely worried that Rinoa was going to Angel Wing, but her friend was busy counting from ten to one over and over. Rinoa appeared so red with anger that Selphie thought she could fry an egg on her friend's forehead.

By the end of the song, Rinoa at least had managed to not Angel Wing although she still looked awfully angry and even more so when she stomped out of Selphie's office and all the SeeDs and upperclassmen in the immediate area burst into spontaneous applause.

"I'm gonna kill him," the angry sorceress vowed, spinning around to face her friends.

"Who? Seifer?" Andrea inquired.

"No, that wasn't Seifer," Rinoa answered. "Seifer is a ghost and that was no ghost. That was one Squall Leonhart and he's gonna pay!" All the onlookers grew quiet as they heard Rinoa's threat. The silence remained long after Rinoa had run off with Andrea following close behind.

Selphie shook her head, sighing, then turned back to her monitor. "I can't believe it," she mumbled.

"What?" asked Irvine who was just then standing up from his task of stringing popcorn to decorate the trees and shrubbery in the Quad.

"Close the door," she ordered.

Irvine quickly obeyed then asked, "Well, what is it?"

"A picture of Xu in the shower," she muttered to herself.

"What?!" screeched Irvine. "Get out of the way! Let me see," Irvine demanded.

Selphie quickly clicked off the computer. "No," she declared. "See - that's exactly what's wrong with you. One minute you're begging me to forgive you, and the next minute you're trying to go through me to look at a picture of another woman."

"But Selphie," Irvine pleaded.

"No buts," she retorted while taking out her cell phone and putting through an immediate call to Xu. Selphie hoped that they would be able to rectify the situation quickly enough to keep anyone else from discovering this latest prank.

Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

Up on the next floor Instructor Trepe had just dismissed her class a few minutes before lunch would be served. She had called up three brand new students to her desk, two fifteen year old males and one fifteen year old female. They had all just transferred from a prep school in Winhill.

"Since there's still a few minutes before lunch will be served, I want you all to go back and look at some of the information on the computer for new students," Quistis suggested.

"Where should we begin?" a round-faced boy named Charlie asked.

"Start with the welcome message," the blonde woman instructed. "I have to do some things before lunch so I will see you all this afternoon to answer more of your questions."

"Thank you Ms. Trepe," they all rang out in unison. Quistis smiled, nodded and left the room. _ It would seem these three would be ripe candidates for the Trepies, _ she thought facetiously.

The three students returned to one of the back desks and Charlie sat down. The other two, Linus and Lucy, stood behind him and looked over his shoulder as he turned on the computer and did the necessary machinations to call up the 'Welcome to Garden' screen.

Charlie blushed heavily but could not tear his eyes away from the screen that held a sight he had never before witnessed.

Linus exclaimed, "Wow! This place is sure a lot different than our school back in Winhill."

"Oh my, could this be right?" Lucy murmured.

"No way," answered Charlie.

"Who cares?" asked Linus, as he took out his personal handheld pocket computer and plugged it into the main computer.

"What are you doing?" demanded the round-faced boy.

"I'm downloading this so I can study it back in the dorm at night," Linus said.

"You're nothing but a perv," Lucy accused.

"Well, yeah," was the answer. "I'm supposed to be a perv. I'm only fifteen."

"Oh, I guess you're right," Lucy said. "I'd better download it too. No telling what I might be able to use this for."

"I can't believe you two, that's disgusting!" protested Charlie.

"Oh, Charlie, get a life!" Linus retorted. "You know you want to download it too."

"No, I do not," he insisted, chuckling. "I want to move on to see if there's any other pictures. I can download mine off yours this evening."

~*~

Quistis blushed deeply as she perused the non-members area of the Chicks of Balamb website. With her classes done for the day, Quistis had finally found the time to do some investigating into the obscene email mystery that seemed to be growing worse by the day. After finding a nude picture of a woman that was most likely Rinoa basking in the steam room, Quistis felt she had all the evidence she needed to determine that this was indeed the source of the offending electronic mail.

_ Come to think of it, _ Quistis pondered, _ where is Rinoa? I haven't seen her all day. _ For that matter she hadn't seen Nicole, Selphie or Andrea since the previous night. Deciding they must all be off somewhere exploring their newfound faith, Quistis let her mind wander back to the mysteries at hand. She knew that both Rinoa and Selphie tended to get obsessed with any new ideas that came along and would quickly bail out as soon as the novelty wore off. This situation was nothing new.

What was important now was to determine who the culprit behind the malicious pornography site was. Seifer was the first suspect, but Nida was just as likely to do something such as this. Quistis had never liked the ex-pilot, and the news of his dismissal from SeeD and the circumstances surrounding the scandal had come as no surprise to the instructor.

Emitting a yawn, Quistis stretched backward in her desk chair. It was then that her eyes perceived something odd about the ceiling panel directly above her desk. Pulling a small flashlight from a drawer, Quistis climbed upon her desk to investigate the strangeness more closely.

Upon closer inspection she could see that there was a small keyhole ingeniously disguised by a knothole in the wood of the ceiling panel. On a hunch, Quistis tried the key Matron had given her. The lock clicked and the panel slid away to reveal a crawlspace above her room. Without thinking further, Quistis hoisted herself into the gloom above.

A half hour later the blonde woman was still wandering through the tangle of hallways within the walls of the Garden. She had found many doors that apparently led to the public areas of Garden and into every single dorm. Quistis was certain Cid had knowledge of these secrets, how else could Edea have the key that apparently opened each door? What bothered Quistis was why he hadn't admitted this knowledge in the first place.

As she meandered, Quistis suddenly became aware of the fact that she was hopelessly lost. Sure, she could easily use her key to exit out into the hallway, or whatever was on the other side of the door she stood next to. But that would mean everyone would become aware of the secret she had discovered. Feeling suddenly selfish, Quistis simply wasn't ready to share. Besides, she'd promised Matron that she'd try and help Seifer. Having his presence exposed so blatantly which would ultimately lead to his arrest would certainly not help her former student in any way.

Quistis continued exploring the narrow passageways in hopes of eventually finding her way back to her room. The sound of voices and the scent of food led the blonde sleuth to a narrow corridor that she assumed adjoined the cafeteria. Quistis stood where the voices were the loudest hoping to catch a snippet of some conversation.

"Well, well, well," came a voice from behind her. Quistis turned abruptly to face Seifer whose form was illuminated by the light filtering in through the cracks in the walls.

"Seifer..."

"None other." He bowed dramatically.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, getting right to the point.

Seifer smiled at her, though in the gloom she could not tell if that smile was malevolent. "I could ask you the same," he remarked.

"I live here."

"As do I."

"But I am allowed to live here, you aren't."

Seifer leaned against the wall and looked down at her. "Where else could I go?"

Quistis didn't know what to say as she suddenly found herself feeling sympathetic toward her old orphanage comrade. "Matron gave me a key," she explained.

"Why?"

"She asked me to help you."

Seifer chuckled ruefully. "I am beyond help." He turned and began walking away from her and as he did, he said, "I suppose this means you'll be having me arrested for trespassing."

"No."

Seifer paused. "No?" he asked incredulously.

"Seifer, I want to help you."

"For Matron?"

Clearing her throat, Quistis responded, "Well...yes."

The handsome ex-knight resumed walking. "Oh please, Quistis, spare me your do-goodingness."

She began to follow Seifer deeper into the labyrinthine tunnels. They walked on for a while, neither saying a word until finally Quistis could bear the sound of their echoing footsteps no longer. "Well, if you won't let me help you will you at least stop these foolish pranks you've been pulling?"

Seifer stopped and turned around to look deep into Quistis' eyes causing her heart to skip a beat. "No," he said simply and began to descend a ladder that Quistis had not seen until then. She hurriedly followed him down.

After what seemed like a lifetime Quistis finally reached the bottom and found herself in a larger corridor that was lit by a few dim burning lights that cast a yellowish haze. The acrid smell of petroleum hung faintly in the air and Quistis realized they must be somewhere near the MD level. Seifer appeared to have waited for her and was leaning against a wall smoking a cigarette.

"Why are you following me?" He raked his free hand through his slightly overgrown blond spikes.

After catching her breath Quistis responded, "I have things I want to ask you."

"So...ask."

"Why are you pulling these pranks?"

Seifer smiled. "Because I want to...next question?"

Quistis tried to think of something else to ask, but her mind would not work the way she wanted it to. Seifer was very near and beneath the bitterness of the cigarette smoke she could smell his own natural scent. It was making her feel a bit dizzy, or maybe it was the second hand high from the cigarette he was smoking. Either way, Quistis couldn't think of anything to inquire.

"When did you start smoking?" she finally blurted out lamely.

Seifer snorted and flicked the butt to the concrete floor. Stomping it out with his boot, he took a few steps closer to Quistis. "You came all the way down here to ask me that?" He was so close Quistis could feel his body heat. "Come on, Quistis, what's the real reason you've been pursuing me?"

"I- umm..."

"It's not like you to beat around the bush like this, Quisty," he said softly.

His use of her childhood nickname shocked her. "I want to know..." Her voice gave out on her.

Seifer touched the tendril of hair that always escaped from her bun. "Yes? You want to know..."

Shivering, she continued, "Why...before all this happened...in the disciplinary room...you, um..." Frustrated and blushing furiously, Quistis closed her mouth and tried to step away from Seifer, but he caught her arm.

"Why what?" He took her wrist gently in his hand and raised it to his lips. "Why did I do this?" He kissed her wrist ever so gently, and inhaled the faded fragrance of her honeysuckle perfume.

Quistis' stomach fluttered madly and she inhaled sharply attempting to pull away, but Seifer's grip on her wrist prevented her. Instead he pulled her even closer. The flustered woman felt so mixed up and weak she didn't have the wherewithal to resist him.

"Oh, wait, maybe it was this..." Seifer leaned in and brushed his lips across the velvet folds of her neck. "Mmmm...sweet..." he murmured in a hoarse whisper.

"Oh Hyne," Quistis whispered. When she felt his lips touch that sensitive part of her neck again she jumped and managed to escape his clutches. "I have a boyfriend... stop!" she hissed.

Seifer's demeanor turned cool once again and with a brusque nod turned away. "Go away Quistis."

"I... can't," she told him.

"Why? Because of your little promise to Matron?" he asked mockingly, gesturing dramatically with his hand.

"No, because I don't know how to get back," she admitted, embarrassed.

"No, because I don't know how to get back," she admitted, embarrassed.

Seifer made a growling sound from deep in his throat. Then, pulling out a folded up paper, he shoved it into her hands. "Here's a map," he told her. "Stick to the areas marked with blue otherwise you'll run into monsters." He turned on his heel and stalked down the corridor, leaving Quistis alone and shivering.

After hearing a noise that sounded too much like a guttural voice whispering, "Precioussss," Quistis bolted up the ladder. Just because Seifer was not a ghost did not mean that Garden was not haunted.

~*~

Selphie, Irvine, Nicole, Zell, Quistis, Matt, and Andrea had pushed two tables together in the second room of the cafeteria to accommodate all of them in order to sit together while they ate their dinner. They had, of course, discussed the Xu fiasco and how fortunate it had been that Selphie had tumbled to it almost immediately after it had been uploaded. 

Irvine, of course, didn't fool anyone when he claimed to be delighted about it being discovered so quickly that he didn't get a good look. Unfortunately it was practically impossible to tell who might have seen it although Xu was presently going through the list of all the people who had logged in since early morning. Surprisingly one of them had been Squall and no one could explain that satisfactorily, unless Rinoa's behavior had caused his mind to finally snap.

Of course most of them wondered who could have perpetuated the Xu prank and they totally ignored Quistis' accusation that it had been Seifer. Finally conversation had worked itself around to the prank holiday song dedication and how poorly Rinoa had reacted to it.

"Well, I'm not sure how any of you would have reacted to it either," Nicole spoke in defense of Rinoa.

"Yeah, and I'm kinda of worried about her," said Andrea. "I haven't seen her for a few hours and I'm wondering why she isn't here for dinner."

"That's a good point," agreed Selphie. "It's not like Rinoa to miss a meal."

The table talk moved on to other items of conversation, such as the Winter Festival and had anyone seen Squall as of late. After a few more minutes had passed, Rinoa entered the dining room her friends were occupying.

Selphie's heart sank when she observed her good friend was dressed in a long flowing semi-translucent robe and was carrying  The Book of Hyne  open in her hands. On the other hand, Irvine's interest picked up because it appeared to him that Rinoa wasn't wearing anything beneath the robe. He instinctively realized for once that it would behoove him to remain mum on the subject because of Selphie's continued displeasure with him.

Nicole happily greeted her friend. "Rinoa, how good to see you're okay. That robe looks fabulous on you by the way." The pigtailed girl was delighted to see how the young sorceress had taken so readily to the beliefs of Mystic Hyneism.

Rinoa nodded at her friend's compliment, but solemnly read, "Life is full and overflowing with the new. But it is necessary to empty out the old to make room for the new to enter."

Quistis was immediately concerned with her friend's new persona. Oh this doesn't bode well for her and Squall's relationship. We need to get her back to her room and attempt to talk some sense into her.

The young sorceress read further staring directly at Quistis. "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." Nicole wanted to bounce in her chair in glee and clap her hands in her happiness, but didn't out of fear of embarrassment.

Selphie, too, was concerned with Rinoa's guise and the strange looks she was attracting from other Garden personnel. "Expand in consciousness - be ready to accept anything now, at any time," Rinoa intoned.

"Oh, what are we going to do?" Selphie said under her breath. "Now Rinoa's become religiously psychotic."

"Why do you say that?" Matt whispered in surprise. "Just because now she has become mature enough to embrace the one true religion? Personally, as far as I'm concerned, she's preaching to the choir."

"Right on!" Nicole cried out. When everyone present turned to look at her, she sank down in her chair and muttered, "Sorry."

Quistis' heart sank. She had no idea Matt was a Mystic Hyneist. _ There's another strike against him..._ Her thoughts trailed away.

Deciding to take control of the situation as was her wont, Selphie quickly stood up from the table before Rinoa could sit down. Matt had already stood himself and pulled a chair out for the young sorceress to sit in. _ Hey! He doesn't do that for me, _ Quistis thought resentfully.

Grasping Rinoa by the arm, Selphie gazed pointedly at the three women still seated at the table and asserted, "Let's help Rinoa back to my room where we can speak with her about all of this."

"Good idea," Quistis agreed also standing up.

"Aw," Matt whined. "I wanted to hear her read some more."

"Matt! You can hear Rinoa anytime. Right now I want to talk with her," the brown-haired woman snapped.

"Selphie, your anger with me just rolls off me like water off a duck's back," said Matt.

"Quack! Quack!" Zell responded for no other reason than to be funny and because the immediate conversation had moved well beyond his comprehension.

Nicole, glancing irritably at her boyfriend, saw him suddenly transform into a duck right in front of her. _ He does kind of look like a duck. Well, if you walk like a duck and talk like a duck...Oh what am I thinking? This is Matt's territory, _ Nicole mused.

Nicole and Andrea quickly stood also and the four young women helped Rinoa leave the cafeteria on their way to Selphie's room. Irvine watched sorrowfully behind them as they left his sight. Matt, observing the look on the cowboy's face, explained, "That's water under the bridge now."

"Will you please just shut up?" the lonesome cowboy unpleasantly inquired.

Reaching Selphie's room without further incidence, the four young friends of Rinoa quickly gained a seat wherever they could which left the young dark-haired woman standing in the center of the room. This seemed to not bother Rinoa at all, as she began to read from  The Book of Hyne  once more. "What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind."

"Ooh, that's so deep," cooed Andrea who was completely enamored with her close friend's new role.

Quistis, hoping to begin to unravel the fabric of Rinoa's sudden change from demented holiday decorator to sublime priestess of Mystic Hyneism, pointed out to her the supposed hypocrisy of appearing spiritual and yet negating it by not wearing anything beneath her semi-transparent robe.

Selphie, noticing this for the first time, complained, "Oh, that is so tacky, Rinoa."

Nicole sat stunned not knowing what to say in her embarrassment when suddenly the sorceress exclaimed, "Well, how about this?" while she reached down to her feet and pulled the robe completely up to her face.

"Oh Rinoa! No!" Nicole cried out in embarrassment. The four women sat stunned not having any idea what to say next as they observed their friend was wearing a flesh colored body suit.

Rinoa burst out laughing at their expressions. "Hyne says," she intoned, "it is easier to proselytize the true word to young men after you have their attention. The rest will follow."

Nicole finally found her voice. "Rinoa, did Hyne really say that?"

"No," she laughed. "I did, but it's still true." Rinoa began to read once again, while Nicole and Andrea stared at her completely captivated, Selphie sat completely stunned, and Quistis sat with her forehead resting in her hand in a mannerism familiar to another SeeD.

_ Hyne help us all, _ she silently prayed.

A/N - The quotes said to have come from  The Book of Hyne  were actually drawn from  A Guide for the Advanced Soul  edited by Susan Hayward.


	15. Friday, December the fifteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 15

Friday, December the Fifteenth

Inside his office, Squall sat at his desk and sighed mightily when he heard the fire alarm once again ringing out. It had become such a regular occurrence that the sound of it no longer carried with it any anxiety, but the Commander knew he had to treat it as genuine nonetheless.

Arising from his desk, Squall quickly crossed his office and threw his door open. He was shocked to observe something burning in the hallway and without thinking Squall began to stamp it out with his feet. The commander thought he heard someone laughing loudly but he looked around and saw no one. By the time the fire was almost out, Squall realized what the squishy substance was that was now covering his black boots.

"Oh crap!" he complained. It was ironic that the word was a protest and a description of what was covering his footwear. Squall suddenly noticed a note nearby on the floor and he bent down and picked it up. 

He read, _Dear Squall_, _Thank you so much for your dedication song to me_. _It touched me so much I decided to give you your Solstice gift early_. _Wear it in good taste_. _Rinoa_.

Squall's vision momentarily blurred but it was uncertain whether it was in hurt or anger, but what was known was anger won out. He jammed the note into his jacket pocket with no further thought of it. 

_That was certainly petty of her_, the young man thought. _She could have come and asked me if that song was from me_, _but I guess that would have been too straightforward for La Princess_. _Well, if she wants petty_, _I_'_ll give her petty_! Squall had no reason to doubt the note; fore he had heard of her vow to wreak revenge on him because of the dedication song. 

Picking up his desk phone, Squall punched in the code for the intercom. After the commander informed everyone to stand down from the fire alarm procedure, he proceeded to make an important announcement. "This is Commander Leonhart speaking. Until further notice, all activities for Winter Festival are hereby cancelled. I repeat, all activities for Winter Festival are cancelled. That is all."

_There_! Squall thought. _That should fix Rinoa_'_s decorating butt for a while_.

"Squall, you should be ashamed of yourself," a woman's voice distinctly spoke into his left ear. He recognized it as being the same one he heard previously. Again when the commander whirled to confront his oppressor, there was no one there.

"This is your last warning," the voice warned. 

Squall angrily retorted, "Show yourself or go away!"

"Last warning, Squall." The woman's voice spoke in a much lower tone that seemed to just disappear at the end.

Going back into his office, the commander declared as if he had spoken the last word on the subject. "The world is more than enough for me. No ghosts need apply."

Cid's normally calm, if not downright placid office environment, had become something resembling bedlam. Not only was Rinoa standing in some sort of a non-dress code gown, reciting from The Book of Hyne to him, but Selphie was jumping back and forth around him like a cricket on a hot griddle. Cid was futilely attempting to restore some order to the proceedings when Edea entered his office to discover what the noise concerned. One look passed from Cid to his beloved wife and she understood she needed to take charge and restore order.

"Children," Edea began. When that had no affect, she attempted it again but at a much higher decibel level. "Children, please!" Edea cried out. That did it. Selphie immediately stood stock-still and Rinoa ceased her loud praying.

"Now what is this about?" the former sorceress asked in a much calmer voice. Now that Selphie had relaxed her physical behavior, her emotions gained control of her and she began to sob.

"Waah!" the normally upbeat young woman bleated. "Squall...cancelled...hic...waah...all Winterfest...activities," Selphie finally managed to explain.

Edea smiled at Cid who responded, "Is that all it is? Why didn't you just say so? He can't do that. I'll take care of that right now." Cid turned on the intercom button on his desk and declared, "This is Headmaster Cid. Contrary to what might have been announced earlier this morning, none of the Winterfest activities are cancelled. That is all."

"There," he said smiling at Selphie who still had tears running down her cheeks.

"You see, Selphie," Edea pointed out, "it's always better to not jump to conclusions and to check things out before going off half cocked."

"Thank you, Matron," Selphie expressed, sounding completely childlike.

"Everyone and everything around you is your teacher," Rinoa read from The Book of Hyne.

Edea's eyes widened in surprise.  She glanced askance at her husband who silently shook his head and rolled his eyes as Rinoa continued to read aloud. 

                                                            ~*~

Zell was hurrying to complete his shower. The excitable SeeD had just returned to his room from the hand-to-hand combat class he was helping to facilitate. He was completely panicked because Instructor Aki had not only allowed the class to run until the allotted lunch hour, she had even kept them later than that.

Ordinarily this wouldn't have bothered the blond SeeD excessively much, even if it meant he would miss scoring his favored hot dogs, but to have this happen today of all days was a complete disaster. Zell had managed by hook and crook to wheedle himself back into Nicole's good graces and she had agreed to attend lunch with him. To mark the occasion as something more special than an ordinary lunch, he had made reservations for two at the Fishy Suave Bistro in Balamb, long famous for the quality of its wonderful gourmet meals of ocean delicacies. And the reservations were for twelve noon!

Zell rushed to ready himself by only half drying and then donning a different outfit. The question wasn't if he would be able to pick up Nicole at her room and then arrive at the restaurant on time, because it was already far too late for that. The only question that remained was could they make their appearance at the famous eatery before his reservation was given away.

Discovering himself in the familiar position of being between a rock and a hard place, Zell made the illogical decision to once again utilize his hoverboard within the Garden to reach a destination quickly. It was, at best, a poor decision because the last time he had used his hoverboard to reach the front gates quickly, it had been confiscated and he was given demerits. Before that time he had failed to negotiate a turn at high speeds and had crashed into the women's restroom. It had taken him a long time to live that particular fiasco down; in fact the episode would still rear its' ugly head whenever Quistis felt like revisiting it.

This time his trip went initially well as Zell traveled from his room on the men's corridor. He'd made it to the hallway where Nicole's room was located in less than a minute, a distance that would usually take ten minutes or more on foot to traverse. Then disaster struck.

As had been the case for Zell more times than not recently, the latest snafu once again involved Rinoa. The pretty sorceress, attired in a similar robe as on the previous day, was surrounded by a group of male upperclassmen avidly listening to her read from The Book of Hyne as they traveled en masse down the corridor toward the careening Zell on his hoverboard.

The now totally misdirected youth had time to yell out only one unheeded word of warning before crashing into Rinoa and the group of young men. Not being of a particular gallant bent, the male students jumped from the path of Zell hanging ten on his hoverboard and he crashed, lock, stock, and barrel into the young sorceress knocking her to the floor where she lay unconscious.

As bad as the excitable SeeD's luck had been running, it then grew worse by leaps and bounds as Nicole and Selphie chose that particular moment to exit Nicole's room. They discovered Rinoa lying on the floor appearing dead as dead could be with Zell still balanced on his hoverboard above her.

Selphie exclaimed shrilly, "For the love of Hyne, Zell! You've really killed Rinoa this time!" Nicole stood sobbing while Zell attempted futilely to explain what had occurred when the robed young woman suddenly sat up rubbing the back of her head.

"What happened?" she asked, totally bewildered.

"Oh Zell tried to kill you again," Selphie explained while helping her friend off the floor.

"No he didn't," Rinoa contradicted wearing a beatific smile. "Remember Selphie, we are members of a vast cosmic orchestra in which each living instrument is essential to the complementary and harmonious playing of the whole."

The dark-haired woman turned toward Zell and expressed, "Thank you Zell for the wonderful enriching part you have played in my life. Come everyone, let us be off." And Rinoa set off once again down the hall reading aloud from The Book of Hyne, followed now not only by the group of male students but also Selphie and Nicole. 

A few seconds later Zell decided to join them. _You know_, _there just might be something to this after all_, he thought as he walked behind.

~*~

It was nearing the dinner hour and the Winter Festival committee meeting was almost three hours old. And yet Selphie had not had the courage to call on Rinoa for her holiday decorations sub-committee report.

True, Rinoa had not done anything out of the way up until then, but the energetic Festival leader was afraid her friend might launch into preaching from The Book of Hyne at the slightest provocation. Not that Selphie was having any difficulty with accepting the message of Mystic Hyneism; she just didn't feel the committee meeting was an appropriate forum.

Finally the brown-haired SeeD could wait no longer since every other sub-committee had reported on their progress. Trusting that she could cut Rinoa short somehow if she began to sermonize, Selphie called upon Rinoa.

"Well, let's hear now from the decorations sub-committee before we end the meeting," Selphie spoke with false joviality while staring at Danine. The Festival Chairperson hoped to engage Danine in dialogue in place of Rinoa. Selphie was greatly disappointed initially when Rinoa gained her feet and said, "In The Book of Hyne it is written 'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.' We of the decorations sub-committee have imagined the entire Garden from stem to stern holiday decorated before Solstice and we will reach our goal!"

The entire decorations sub-committee jumped to their feet and spontaneously broke into applause at Rinoa's promise. As they continued to clap, the rest of the sub-committees grudgingly followed suit until the entire Quad was awash in good cheer.

Selphie beamed and thought, _What was I so worried about_? _Rinoa was awesome_. "Okay everybody, that's it for today and great work! Keep it up, we've only a few more days left."

As most of the SeeDs and students stood up to leave, Selphie called her close friends to the front. After they had all gathered, the Festival Chairperson happily announced, "Meet me in the secret area in fifteen minutes. I have a surprise for you all. Remember now, fifteen minutes – don't be late."

It turned out to the delight of most of the people invited that Selphie's surprise in the secret area was a wine and cheese party. They were amazed to discover she had somehow shanghaied several smallish round tables of the garden party type variety. The tables were covered by red and white checked linen tablecloths and situated around them were a number of wrought iron chairs.

On the tables themselves, there were small china plates and wine goblets. The beverages being offered included, Chablis, champagne, sparkling burgundy, cold duck, brandy, and for the people who were more comfortable with less expensive tastes there was Bones Farm Grape wine and Mogen Chavitz.

The cheeses being offered included Brie from Winhill, Delingburger, which was a very unpleasant smelling cheese, from Galbadia, Shumi cheese which was a hard pale cheese with internal holes, Estharian cheddar and, of course, some Timber tangy hot cheese.

"This is truly wonderful, Selphie," Rinoa praised joyfully. 

Observing that her belief in Mystic Hyneism didn't preclude Rinoa having a good time and that Quistis was already imbibing of a goblet of Chablis, Selphie was delighted. She had arranged this little party mainly for her two women friends who appeared to be having such a difficult time with the holidays.

As a matter of fact unbeknownst to Selphie, Quistis was already on her second goblet and since she hadn't eaten any food all day she was already feeling the euphoric effects of the beverage. Wine always went straight to her head. Matt looked on concerned; particularly because he believed in abstinence, of all things pleasurable it seemed.

Irvine was drinking from a snifter of brandy and suddenly burst into song. "Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you'll be."

"Shut up, Irvine!" Zell demanded.

Now Zell," Matt admonished, "you can win more flies with honey than vinegar."

"What exactly does that mean?" Zell inquired. "Why would I want to win flies anyway?"

Irvine broke into hysterical laughter.

Rinoa, holding a plate full of Delingburger cheese, stepped closer to Selphie. The very unpleasant odors wafted over to Selphie who was attempting to step back when Rinoa lightly clutched her by the arm to prevent her from stepping away.

"This is so wonderful, Selphie," she said. "I can't tell you how long it's been since I had some Delingburger cheese. Now if I only had some Gysahl pickles."

_Oh dear Hyne_! _She likes those smelly pickles too_! Selphie thought with a shudder.

Rinoa smiled at Selphie's reaction. Being used to people responding to the mention of Gysahl pickles in such a manner, she took no offense. "I see you don't care for them much."

The energetic SeeD shook her head in agreement while thinking back. _Now when was that_? _Oh yeah_, _it was at Trabia_, _many years ago when the guy Adelbert came through with some. __I couldn'__t stand them right from the beginning._

Quistis poured herself another goblet of Chablis. Before she could raise it to her lips, Matt inquired, "Don't you think you've have enough, Quistis?"

"Tell me, Matt," Zell said becoming interested in their conversation. "How much is enough? I've always wondered that."

"Uh...well," Matt answered suddenly hard-pressed to give a definition to a rhetorical question. "Enough is different for each person."

"Huh?" Zell responded.

Irvine began laughing again, obviously quite inebriated. 

"He actually means Zell that enough is too much," Quistis answered rather snottily. "Isn't that right, Matt?"

"Now Quisty, I didn't mean anything by it, really," Matt attempted to smooth the waters that had quickly blown up into a gale force.

"No Matt, you never mean anything by what you say," Quistis riposted.

She stood up, placed the still full goblet down carefully as much to prove to herself than anybody else that she could take it or leave it. "I'm going back to my room. Thank you very much Selphie. It was very thoughtful of you."

As Quistis began to walk away from the balcony leading back to the training center, Selphie suggested, "Quistis, let me go with you. You shouldn't go alone."

 "I'll be fine," the blonde woman insisted. "Besides you need to stay and entertain your guests."

"Then I'll go with you," Rinoa said.

"No need," the instructor answered and disappeared into the training center.

"Matt, you should have gone with her," Rinoa accused angrily.

"You heard her, she didn't want anybody to go with her," he replied defending himself.

_With that attitude, she thought, __I'__m surprised Squall and him aren'__t best friends._

A few minutes later, Quistis was lying in a heavy sleep on her bed having made it all the way back to her room without incident.

Not long after that, Seifer stood with his ear pressed against the thin walling attempting to hear if there was anyone in the hall. When he heard nothing, he stepped quickly through the hidden door and glanced around. Sure enough, the hallway was presently empty. 

If asked, he would have been hard pressed to explain what he was doing or why he was doing it. Seifer certainly didn't say anything to Raijin or Fujin about what he was going to do next for that very reason. He understood instinctively they would have no idea what he possibly could be thinking about. Seifer didn't understand himself nor was he attempting to. He was operating solely on an intuitive basis rather than a cognitive one.

Seifer attempted to tell himself that he suspected Quistis of being up to something that could threaten his freedom, but if push came to shove he realized that just wasn't true.  _Maybe I'__m just worried about her, he admitted to himself._

Seifer blanched at that thought and quickly pushed it back down to where he wouldn't be in contact with it. Stepping up to the magnetic keypad outside of Quistis' door, he pressed the universal key card he had purchased from Nida for a handsome sum into the slot and opened the door. Taking one more glance around to make certain no one was watching him, Seifer stepped quietly into the room.

The interior of Quistis' room was lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the vertical blinds and the twinkling white lights of her tiny holiday tree. Seifer didn't want to alert any one of his presence by turning on the overhead lights, so he crept through the shadows. 

Seifer stopped in the middle of her room. He had no idea what he was to do now that he was here. Sighing softly, he glanced about at the simple decorations she'd put up and the heap of gifts beneath her tree. Then his eyes fell upon her desk and a letter she'd been writing. Curiosity got the better of Seifer and he picked up the sheet of paper.

_Dear Winter Witch_, the letter began. Seifer almost laughed aloud at the thought of sensible Quistis still believing in the Winter Witch. His amusement faded however as he continued reading.

_I don't want anything for Solstice this year_, Quistis' letter went on, _except for all my friends to be happy again. Especially Seifer, because he's so lonely. Please make this holiday extra special for him, if you can._

A sound like the coo of a dove interrupted Seifer's reading. He turned in surprise to see Quistis stirring in her bed. Her blue eyes opened and she looked at him with a gasp.

"Oh Winter Witch! You are real!" Her sleepy voice made her sound no older than ten, and Seifer suppressed a smile.

"I'm no witch," he said.

The blonde beauty blinked a few times and her eyes appeared to focus. "Oh! Seifer! I must have been dreaming."

Seifer laughed in response.

Sitting up and pulling her blankets over her shoulders, Quistis asked, "How did you get in my room? I barred the trapdoor from inside."

"I noticed," was his only answer.

Upon seeing the paper that Seifer still had in his grasp Quistis leaped out of bed. Her face burned a deep crimson. "Hey! That's private!" The former knight held the letter out of her reach as Quistis made several tries to retrieve it.

"I can't believe you still believe in the Winter Witch!" taunted Seifer.

Finally giving up, Quistis stood before Seifer and crossed her arms. "I don't!"

"Then what's with the letter?"

The instructor sighed. "It's just something I've always done to get myself more into the holiday season."

"Oh."

"Well aren't you going to laugh?"

Seifer tossed the letter onto the desk. "Nah."

"So what are you doing in my room?" she asked.

Seifer looked around nervously and took a step toward Quistis. Sniffing the air he asked, "Have you been drinking?" He looked at his old instructor more closely and noticed she was wavering on her feet. "You have!" he answered his own question. Taking her by the elbow, he guided her to the bed.

Quistis flopped down and looked up at him suspiciously. "Remember, I have a boyfriend."

"How could I forget?" He took a seat right next to her. Quistis jumped slightly when their thighs touched causing Seifer to smirk.

Feeling a headache coming on, Quistis leaned forward and put her face in her hands. "So please tell me, Seifer… why are you in my room?" She asked again, her voice slurring slightly.

"I dunno… guess I was bored…"

She began to massage her temples. "Uh-huh…"

"Headache?" he asked, gently stroking her hair. _What am I doing? _he wondered, and quickly pulled his hand away. "Er, can I get you something?"

Quistis pouted. "You stopped…" Her eyes looked bleary and Seifer assumed she was still heavily under the influence. Not knowing what else to do, Seifer resumed stroking the blonde SeeD's hair. Like a cat, Quistis leaned into his caresses until she was resting against him.

It was a strange feeling for Seifer, but not unpleasant. Quistis was warm and smelled so sweet. A smile came unbidden to his lips. Quistis opened her eyes to look at him and giggled.

"What?" he whispered.

"You have a great smile, you should do it more often."

Seifer didn't know what to say. In silence he continued to twist her locks gently through his fingers. He felt the urge suddenly to kiss his former instructor and leaned down to do just that. Unfortunately Quistis had fallen into a deep sleep; her breathing was slow and even.

He laid her gently back on the bed and pulled up her blankets. Then, after planting a gentle kiss on Quistis' forehead he quickly departed.

  
  



	16. Saturday, December the sixteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 16

Saturday, December the Sixteenth

The usual half-day of classes on Saturday were held despite the almost total milieu of the upcoming holiday. The atmosphere was due to, as per her promise, the holiday decorating that Rinoa's sub-committee had completed in the Garden. 

There were so many different decorations and combinations of such that a person literally couldn't escape the sight of them no matter what part of the Garden they were in; including such obscure places as the laundry area, the pot and pan scullery, and the men and women's shower rooms. The interiors of individual toilet compartments in the public restrooms were decorated; some mistakenly with mistletoe that had led to some rather inappropriate joking. Most of the inhabitants of the Garden had breathed a sigh of relief when they realized there was actually nothing left for Rinoa and her sub-committee to decorate. Even the parking garage was crammed full of holiday paraphernalia.

Quistis sat in the last row of the small Garden chapel. There were two large pictures of Seifer at the front separated by a tiny altar. He was adorned in his usual long military coat and was holding Hyperion down by his side. The young woman noted how incredibly handsome he appeared in them. 

_Handsome_?! Quistis thought embarrassedly as though someone in the room could read her thoughts. _What is going on with me_? 

Also attending the Seifer Memorial Service were Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Nicole, and Rinoa. Quistis was deucedly uncomfortable with participating in a memorial service for someone who was still alive. Although she wasn't particularly superstitious, Quistis did feel as though it was bad karma to be involved in such; something akin to being careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

Selphie just refused to accept no as an answer from the instructor as she explained to Quistis that, "Nicole insisted something had to be done to appease Seifer's ghost." The blonde woman interrupted her musings as she realized Nicole had begun the service.

"We are gathered here today to remember one of Garden's _sons_ who has passed on but apparently is still fettered to his earthly woes. This is not a pleasant situation for all involved, but it is particularly dangerous to Seifer who could miss his opportunity to pass to a higher plane and instead become chained to this one for all eternity."

"Oh no," Selphie murmured. "Poor Seifer."

Quistis glanced at her friend to ascertain if she were serious and the look of anguish visible across Selphie's usual pretty features assured the blonde woman that she was. 

_Selphie is such a caring person_... _but awfully silly at times_, Quistis ruminated.

Nicole continued to speak. "Rinoa will now lead us in prayer."

Rinoa stepped to the front of the altar and directed, "Please bow your heads." Then she began her prayer. "Oh Great Hyne, bringer of all life, please hear our confused ramblings and thoughts as we beseech you to help us bring forth sense out of nonsense and faith out of faithlessness and humor out of humorless and whether out of whether or not and -."

"Rinoa, please," Nicole interrupted while placing her hand gently on the sorceress' arm.

"Huh? Oh...sorry," Rinoa murmured after giving her head a shake as if she had been in a trance. "Oh Great Hyne," the young woman began again. "Please give us a sign as to what we need to offer Seifer's ghost so he would be persuaded to move on."

Suddenly a disembodied voice said one word in a serpent-like sibilant tone, "Sex."

As Rinoa flushed crimson, Quistis ducked her head to hide her smile from the other occupants of the room. Looking around until she found the security camera in one of the corners, Quistis surreptitiously offered a wink. Many flights below in the MD level, Seifer was watching the religious farce on his computer screen and he guffawed in delight at his former instructor's reaction.

"No Great Hyne, I don't think you understood," Rinoa said attempting to reach out for help again. "What should we do to help Seifer's ghost to move on?"

"Offer him sex," the same disembodied voice explained.

The young sorceress suddenly stamped her foot slightly in frustration. "No, no, Great Hyne! I don't-."

Nicole stood up again and interrupted her friend one more time. "Rinoa," she admonished. "If the Great Hyne says we should offer sex to Seifer's ghost, then that's what -."

Here it suddenly occurred to the sweet, but sometimes not too bright, girlfriend of Zell what she was actually saying. She turned a deeper red than Rinoa and quickly sat down.

Rinoa completed the shambles by intoning, "Blessed be." Everyone in the room echoed her closure. Everyone inadvertently breathed a collective sigh of relief to have gotten through the ceremony apparently to Nicole's satisfaction.

"What now?" Zell asked.

"Well, I'm not actually sure," Nicole admitted. "I've never really been involved in something like this. I guess we wait and see if Seifer's ghost moves on or not."

"Maybe," said Rinoa, "we should talk about some of the good memories we have of Seifer. Perhaps the positivity of it will help his soul to move on?"

"Great idea," Nicole praised, though it was obvious from the expression on the librarian's face she wished she'd come up with the idea.

"Hey," Irvine interjected. "Does anyone remember when Seifer gave Selphie one of those funny pink mushrooms he found and she ate it?"

"Oh yeah!" Zell agreed. "I remember that. It was hysterical. Selphie thought she had become a little yellow butterfly and went from one of us to another collecting pollen and then carrying it on to someone else."

"Yes," Quistis remembered with a grimace. "That was disgusting."

"Huh?" asked Selphie. "What are you talking about? I don't remember anything like that ever happening."

"Never mind, dear," Quistis offered, patting her tiny friend's shoulder. "It isn't important, anyway."

"I'll tell you what was important," asserted Irvine. "I remember when we were little that Seifer always hated the holidays, even then. Apparently his birthday was real close to Solstice and sometimes even fell right on it and he always got cheated out of it because of the more important holiday of Solstice."

"Yeah, that's right," Quistis agreed. "And there was something else, Squall came to the orphanage originally right on Seifer's birthday and he ended up being ignored again."

"That's right!" Irvine agreed, "But the next year Ellone was taken away near the Solstice and Squall was devastated. Hey! I bet that's what is going on with him right now and he doesn't even realize it."

Selphie sighed. "Yes, Irvine you did suggest that before."

"That might well be, Irvine," Rinoa responded prissily, "but that doesn't give him the right to act the way he is now." Irvine wisely chose not to respond because he realized Rinoa had been on edge lately. 

As the others sat and laughed over different situations and events from their childhood, Nicole and Rinoa discussed the finer aspects of Mystic Hyneism. Quistis realized she was beginning to understand the motivations that were currently driving Seifer to disrupt the holiday celebration as much as possible. She wondered what he was thinking as he listened to the reminiscing of his old childhood comrades. 

Unfortunately Seifer had turned the video monitor off at the end of the prayer, assuming the service was over. He had gone out into the passageways to possibly track down some strange sounds he had been hearing when he moved through the Garden's walls. 

~*~

It was thirty minutes later. Everyone had left the chapel after the memorial service excepting for Selphie, Nicole, and Zell. Nicole and Selphie had asked Zell to remain behind because they hoped to be able to intervene in the obviously disturbing progression of 'accidents' he appeared stuck in with Rinoa.

It had been determined beforehand that Selphie should begin the intervention as Zell wouldn't be as apt to be defensive with her as he might with his girlfriend.

"So Zell, what's this trouble between you and Rinoa anyway?"

Zell appeared thunderstruck and initially didn't respond at all, but finally managed to answer, "Me and Rinoa? I don't have any problems with Rinoa."

Nicole spoke up. Even though it had been agreed that Selphie would handle most of the conversation, Zell's girlfriend couldn't help herself. "I don't think Rinoa would agree with you, Zell."

"Why not?" he wondered. "I didn't think Rinoa was upset with me. What have I done?"

"What have you done?!" Selphie echoed. "You've almost killed her a number of times. It just doesn't make sense that all these incidents are just coincidence. You're obviously upset with her for some reason."

Zell flushed deeply. "I'm not upset with Rinoa. Why would I be upset with Rinoa?"

"Zell, that's what we're asking you," Nicole explained plaintively.

"I have no problems with Rinoa. In fact, I like Rinoa."

"You certainly have a strange way of showing it," Selphie pointed out. Suddenly the energetic female SeeD grew crafty in her appearance. "Are you certain that you don't have...let us say certain feelings toward Squall? And that these feelings are causing you to feel animosity toward Rinoa and wish her out of the way?"

Zell considered Selphie's proposition rather slowly. In fact, one could literally see the wheels turning in his head and the exact second that comprehension hit him as he suddenly jumped to his feet and excitedly retorted, "I do not! That's – that's disgusting. I don't know who you've been talking to or what you've been reading, but that's completely insane!"

Nicole, who had obviously thinking about Selphie's suggestion with great honesty, looked horrified. "Oh Zell… have you been using me as a trophy girlfriend so no one finds out your secret?"

Zell's jaw fell slack. He couldn't believe that even Nicole believed the ridiculous idea. "Sweet Shiva…"

"I'll always be your friend, you know," his girlfriend continued, "but you have to be honest with me."

Without further comment Zell turned on his heel. As Zell stalked from the chapel, Nicole called after him, "Zell, where are you going?"

"I'm going to work out and then if I calm down enough, I may see you at dinner."

After Zell had left, Nicole said to Selphie, "What do you think? I don't think that went very well."

"Me thinks he dost protest too much," she replied thoughtfully.

~*~

It was Saturday evening at Balamb Garden. Everything and everybody was involved in the usual happy hubbub of the one evening of the week that curfew was extended to midnight; plus Solstice Eve was only a mere few days away!

Many of the young women and men of the Garden were in their rooms preparing themselves to go out together on dates, despite the 'official' Garden guidelines that frowned on such relationships. Some of them were just going out with friends or going by themselves to do some last minute holiday shopping since the Balamb shops, including the mall, would be open unusually late because of the nearness of the holidays. A few of the male and female students would be attending the small weekly 'sock hops' that were held in the cafeteria. All of the tables and chairs were pushed over to the side and music was piped in over the intercom via X-199, the popular Deling City radio station.

The Garden heroes or perhaps by now if the truth be known some people would consider them anti-heroes, sans Squall and with the addition of Nicole, Andrea and Matt were meeting at the front gates. When Selphie arrived she discovered everyone, except Rinoa, waiting for her with their Shumi Flyer sleds standing by their sides. The sleds were constructed by Artisan and were considered the best sleds that could be found anywhere, no matter the price.

Rinoa was standing off to the side of the front gates amongst a large group of students and SeeDs, both male and female. Selphie noticed with great relief that Rinoa was appropriately dressed for the sledding activity and in fact looked cute as a 'lil ski bunny. 

The sorceress was wearing a red beret at a cocky angle, giving her a mischievous appearance.  A stylish red and green checked woolen winter coat kept her safe from the chill winds, and green winter slacks accentuated her natural curves. On her feet were laced up winter boots that were color coordinated with her coat.

_She_'_s overdressed as far as I_'_m concerned_, Selphie thought. The brown-haired SeeD was just a tad jealous due to the fact that she had just thrown on her dark colored official SeeD pullover over her usual skimpy yellow dress. The only other concession she had made to the cold was yellow woolen tights to protect her legs from being cut up should she fall into the snow. Selphie was quite vain about her shapely legs.

"Hey Rinoa!" Selphie called out attempting to keep her voice even. Rinoa looked and waved at her energetic but sometimes ebullient friend. Selphie heard Rinoa politely excuse herself before joining the excited group.

"Everybody ready?" Rinoa asked cheerfully.

"Where's Squall?" Matt asked. "Is he coming?"

"Oh who cares?" Rinoa retorted grimacing.

_Oh this is just too bad_, Quistis thought. _I must make time to attempt to talk to Squall or he_'_s going to end up being sorry for the rest of his life if he loses Rinoa_. Quistis did not deny that she still harbored a small crush on the handsome commander, but she knew that he and Rinoa were made for one another.

Nicole asked, "Who were those people, Rinoa?"

"This is rather embarrassing, but they say they're my disciples," Rinoa explained and then giggled sweetly.

Nicole became rather flushed and exclaimed, "Oh no, Rinoa! That's not correct, you can't have disciples. Even if you could, you haven't even been ordained as a Mystic Hyneist Priestess."

"Well, I am a sorceress, you know. That should count for something," Rinoa retorted a little edge of frustration in her voice. "But as a matter of fact, _I_ didn't say they were my disciples. I said _they said_ they were my disciples. Besides how hard could it be to become a priestess, anyway? You seem to know all about it and you're not..."

Here the words _very bright_ seemed to hang unspoken in the air, until Rinoa lamely finished by saying, "a priestess."

_Oh ho_! Quistis thought. _What have we here_..._a little falling out between religious zealots_? _This should prove interesting_.

Nicole began to interject a rejoinder to the young sorceress's defensive statements, but Selphie interrupted. "Ok, ok, we can talk about this later. Let's go! The snow's awaiting!"

"That's right," Matt agreed. "Time and Tide waits for no man."

"Huh?" Zell said.

_I think he actually finally said something that made sense_. "Come on, let's just go," Quistis said and she began walking towards the front gates.

It was a beautiful starlit night, cool and crisp, but comfortably so with a full moon shining down and nary a cloud in the sky. It had been decided beforehand that they would be content with sliding down the Balamb hillside rather than attempting to travel to Trabia or beyond to the land of the Shumi.

Upon reaching the outside, Quistis was quite surprised to observe that the outside of the Garden itself was now partially decorated with shiny holiday foil, tinsel, and garlands. Some electric lighting had been strung but was not hooked up yet.

"Rinoa, did you do this?" Quistis asked unable to keep amazement out of her voice.

"Yes, well, my sub-committee and I did it. Looks great, doesn't it?" Rinoa answered.

"Uh...well, Selphie, did you know about this?" Quistis replied.

"Yes," Selphie answered while offering her blonde friend a '_what are you going to do'_ shoulder shrug.

"Zell, what's that stuff?" Matt inquired.

Everyone turned to glance at Zell and observed he was rubbing some waxy substance on to the runners of his sled. He continued to splash on great quantities of it while he answered, "This is a silicon based non-caloric kitchen lubricant designed to make my sled go quicker."

"Oh good grief!" Selphie accused. "You're probably going to try to kill Rinoa again."

"Now Selphie," Rinoa cautioned, "don't be a Solstice meanie. You know Zell didn't mean anything by those incidents. They were just accidents."

"No, I'm not gonna try to kill Rinoa again," Zell denied in a whiny high-pitched voice. "I'm just gonna go faster and farther than any of you, that's all."

"Now Zell," Matt intoned, "Don't sell wolf tickets your ass can't cash."

"Matt!" Nicole gasped, aghast at his language.

While Quistis looked on suddenly intrigued with her boyfriend since she had never heard him speak in such a manner. Matt muttered an apology. "Oh, sorry, that just slipped out. I used to hang out on the street when I was younger. I meant to say don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"Come on, everybody. Let's just go," Irvine suggested tiredly.

"That's right, let's go have some fun!" Rinoa exuberantly shouted out.

The rest of them looked at her rather quixotically and then turned and began walking up the nearest mountain trail pulling their sleds behind them. Fifteen minutes later as they had finally reached the top of the rather long hill, they all stood waiting to push off their sleds on their ride down.

Nicole and Andrea went first and appeared to get off to a good, safe start. The slope of the hill prevented the people at the very top from seeing more than the first dip. Beyond that the hill's drop became more steep and the two young women were soon out of sight. Irvine of course never missing an opportunity to flirt a little with a pretty young woman, even if Selphie was still irked with him, left next without saying a word to anyone.

"Well, I like that," Selphie complained. "Just butt ahead of everyone, Irvine!" she called out to him but he was already out of earshot. "Who wants to go next?" she asked.

"I'll go!" Rinoa cried out, chronically cheerful.

After the young sorceress had successfully made her getaway, Selphie made the suggestion that she go next followed by Quistis and Matt. Zell was to go last with enough room between him and Rinoa to insure her safety.

Everyone left on schedule amidst Zell's grumbling and then it was his turn. Zell sprinted holding his sled up with his strong arms until just before the slope downward began when he threw his sled down and then flopped on to it.

The ride down was so fast it far exceeded even Zell's wildest expectations as the sled and he were literally flying! It was amazing that the sled had managed to maintain any contact at all with the snow-covered ground as it flew down the hill. Zell was quickly upon Matt and Quistis and then he passed them so fast they were but a blur in his peripheral vision.

Behind him, Quistis observed the speed that Zell was traveling. Having a clear view of everyone ahead of her, the instructor just knew without saying that she was going to witness another disaster involving Zell. As the sled bearing Zell, who was just barely hanging on to it's back because it was traveling so fast, approached Selphie, Zell attempted to turn it right since he was headed directly at Rinoa!

His first indication that he was in serious trouble was when the sled refused to obey his directions to slant to the right. Either the sled's controls weren't working properly or more than likely it was just traveling so fast it couldn't react quickly enough to avoid Rinoa. Zell went crashing into the young dark-haired woman on her sled causing her to fly off and tumble sideways completely off the hill!

The martial artist couldn't stop even if he had wanted to, but he knew the people behind him would look after Rinoa. Besides, his major worry now was avoiding Nicole and Andrea, which he managed to do by scant inches. Zell was bending the controls back so hard to stop that they snapped off in his hands and still he flew forward when he and the sled reached the bottom of the hill just outside of Balamb City.

He and his sled continued to careen wildly as he just managed to avoid entering the town proper and instead slid by the outside of it and ended up landing face first, sled flying out of control never to be seen again into the Balamb landfill. Zell fought his way to the surface of the garbage spitting out pieces of trash.

_Oh Holy Shiva_! _What have I done this time_? he thought forlornly.

Rinoa did not regain consciousness until she had been transported to the infirmary. She awoke lying on a bed in the clinic with Selphie standing by her side and the doctor looking into the young sorceress' eyes with a small penlight.

"Welcome back, dear," the doctor said. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of concussion so you won't be any more addled brained than you were before," she joked.

_Oh great_, Selphie thought sardonically.

"What happened?" Rinoa asked.

"Zell tried to kill you again," Selphie answered.

"I'll check in on you again in a few minutes," the doctor said, leaving the room.

"Oh don't say that," Rinoa replied automatically by rote, but deep inside suspicions had become to form that possibly her friend wasn't far wrong. _Could Zell be trying to kill me at Squall's request_? _You know he would do anything for Squall_. _He worships him_. _Maybe Squall not only doesn_'_t love me anymore_, _he wants me out of the way so he can go out with Andrea_.

Tears began to flow down Rinoa's cheeks uncontrolled. "What's wrong, honey? Are you in pain?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shook her head but couldn't answer. "Zell's waiting outside to talk with you. I'll tell him to come back later...okay?" suggested Selphie.

Rinoa continued to weep softly while Selphie went to the door to deliver the message.


	17. Sunday, December the seventeenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 17

Sunday, December the Seventeenth

Even though it was Sunday morning, Zell was up fairly early. This was the day he was supposed to travel to Balamb City and visit the Hot Dog Emporium in order to set up the arrangements for the hot dog bar. The Hot Dog Emporium, being located within Balamb Mall, was always open for some hours on Sundays in hopes of attracting shoppers for lunch since they also had a restaurant besides a catering service. As it was now so close to the Solstice holidays the mall itself, as many of the stores within it, were open extra hours in order to accommodate holiday shoppers.

Zell had finally gotten into her clinic room to apologize to Rinoa the evening before. His accidental victim had acted rather standoffish when he had attempted to make amends. He told himself that he understood that she would be highly upset over what had happened. Although he was accepting of her still being mad at him, it hurt his feelings nonetheless. 

_Out to get Rinoa_! Zell thought. _That_'_s crazy_, _wouldn_'_t I know if I were out to get Rinoa_?

Zell had nowhere to turn to for support or insight. He normally utilized his girlfriend in that role, but recently she had seemed to lose faith in him for some reason. _That_'_s not right_, he thought. _Your girlfriend should believe in you_.

Zell only had one other person to whom he could go for support and that was Squall. Talking to the commander was out of the question as no one had really seen Squall for days except in passing for seconds at a time. And when they had, the commander had been horribly rude. _Well_, _I_'_ll ask Nicole to go with me down to Balamb and maybe on the way we can talk_.

_Yeah_, _that_'_s the ticket_! Zell thought optimistically as he left his room to make his way toward the cafeteria. As soon as Zell entered the cafeteria he saw Nicole, Selphie, and Irvine sitting at a table near the back of the first room. Nearing the table, the blond-haired SeeD called out, "Hey Nicole! You wanna go with me down to Balamb?"

"That depends," his pretty dark-haired girlfriend answered mysteriously.

"On what?" Zell inquired bouncing up and down on his toes, shadow boxing.

"On whether you know what day it is," Nicole answered.

"Well, of course I know what day it is," the excitable SeeD answered feeling completely confident for a change. "It's the day we go to Balamb to leave the cash deposit with the Hot Dog Emporium."

Nicole looked stricken and then tried once more. "No, that's not it… today is a very special day."

"What's so special about a Sunday?" he asked, thoroughly confused as he usually was.

"Oh Zell!" the young woman burst out crying and fled the cafeteria.

"What'd I say?" Zell asked confused glancing from Selphie to Irvine.

Selphie stepped forward and softly touched Zell on his arm. "Zell, honey," she said gently, "Today is Nicole's birthday."

"Oh my sweet rear end!" the young man exclaimed. "Are you sure? I thought it was next Sunday."

Matt, who had just approached with Quistis in tow advised, "A stitch in time saves nine." 

"Yes, I'm sure," the green-eyed woman replied, flashing Matt a glare of annoyance. "In fact I'm throwing her a surprise party in the secret area. Now when you go to Balamb you pick her out something really nice -."

"Oh, don't worry," Zell interrupted. "I have something real nice I'm gonna get her."

"Okay, good," Selphie praised. "Now hurry up and get back here as quick as you can. And then come straight to the secret area for the surprise party."

"I will!" Zell called out over his shoulder as he had already turned and was sprinting from the cafeteria. _Surprise party_, _huh_? _I hope it turns out better than the one Squall gave Rinoa_, he thought.

Quistis turned to her boyfriend. "I can't believe you said that."

"What?"

"Oh, never mind…"

~*~

Selphie once again made use of the tables and chairs she had used for her wine and cheese party several nights prior. With the help of Rinoa and Andrea the area had turned into a rose and lavender wonderland of balloons and streamers. The birthday cake Quistis had purchased stood in the center on a table bedecked with fresh roses.

The whole gang was there, except for Zell who had not yet returned from Balamb. Even Squall had made an appearance. The commander sat sullenly at a table in the corner sipping at a pint of Shumi beer.

It was getting late, and Selphie had decided to proceed in spite of the fact that Zell had not yet arrived. Matt, who had been elected to take the martial artist's place in fetching Nicole, had gone to perform his duty.

The gang waited with the lights off for Nicole's grand entrance. When the birthday girl stepped into the Secret area on the arm of Quistis' boyfriend, Selphie snapped on the lights and everyone shouted, "Surprise!"

"Oh!" cried Nicole, "how sweet of you all!" She grinned happily, her face glowing with excitement. She was soon surrounded by her friends wishing her a happy birthday. Looking around, Nicole asked, "Where's Zell?"

"He'll be here any minute," explained Selphie, trying to make the librarian feel better, "he got stuck in Balamb."

Nicole's face grew cold. "How convenient," she said with a sniff. With a shrug she accepted a glass of bubbly pink wine and proceeded to enjoy herself.

The party was well underway when Zell finally made his appearance. Out of breath and covered with a faint sheen of sweat from running as fast as he could to make it on time, the blond SeeD approached his girlfriend.

With an apologetic grin, Zell approached his girlfriend. She said nothing but looked at him with an unreadable expression. When he leaned forward to offer Nicole a kiss she backed away.

"Ew, Zell, you're all sweaty."

"Sorry," he said, "I ran all the way here."

"Yes, well, you're late," Nicole complained.

Zell sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologized again. "It took a while to have this made for you." He held out a tiny gift bag.

Nicole scarcely glanced at the gift. "You can put that over there." She gestured to a table heaped with gifts and presented Zell with her back. Holding back tears, Zell did as he was told then went to stand by the entrance to the secret area. A long time passed before Nicole made eye contact with her boyfriend again. When she did she gave him her iciest glower then stuck her nose up in the air and proceeded to continue ignoring him.

Tears emerged from Zell's sky blue eyes. Then, choking back a sob, the martial artist ran from the area.

Squall, having seen all this, shook his head slowly. Gulping down the remainder of his beer, the commander made his way over to Nicole. "Happy birthday, Nicole."

"Thank you, Squall," she said, her eyes glazed from the alcohol she'd imbibed.

"I have some paperwork to finish," he told her, "so I guess I'll see you around. Goodnight."

Nicole looked imploringly into Squall's glum countenance. "I guess you think I'm being really hard on Zell…"

Squall shrugged. "I don't think anything."

"That'sh very true," deadpanned Rinoa, who was obviously very drunk, "Hyne shaysh 'We are what we think. All that we are arishes with our thoughts. With our thoughtsh, we make our world.'"

"Whatever," Squall retorted.

Rinoa puffed herself up. "That'sh your anshwer to everything" –hiccup- "isn't it Shquall? Whatever, whatever, whatever…" She hiccupped again and then belched loudly. The sorceress was too drunk to excuse herself or even be embarrassed at her rudeness.

Refusing to be drawn into a confrontation, Squall merely strode out of the party. Rinoa stood glaring in his departing direction long after he was gone.

"Well, that was uncalled for," commented Matt. 

Rinoa whirled on Quistis' boyfriend with her chin jutting out. "Bite me!"

Matt blanched slightly. "Don't make a mountain out of a molehill, Rinoa, I was just making an observation!"

"Well, a very poor one!" she told him, unpuffing herself. "I am just so sick of Squall being so mean."

"You know, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," Matt advised gently.

Rinoa huffed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

A drunken Irvine spoke up just then. "I means that if you want to be with Squall, you will have to accept him for what he is. You can't change him." He looked pointedly at Selphie.

"Shut up, Irvine!" the tiny SeeD retorted, understanding his implication.

Irvine slammed his glass of brandy down on the table. "I am getting just a little bit tired of you telling me to shut up, Selphie."

"I'll tell you whatever I want to, Irvine… you brought it on yourself!"

"Every stick has two ends," Matt pointed out.

Selphie bounced over to Matt and shook her finger in his face. "You shut up, cliché-boy, this is none of your business!"

The argument only degenerated from there and Nicole began to cry. Quistis was tired of all of it. Andrea was already comforting Nicole, so she saw no reason to stay any longer. The instructor quickly departed the ruined party and made her way to her room.

~*~

Quistis sat on the end of her bed gazing at her sparkling holiday tree, brooding over the unpleasant ending to Nicole's birthday party. The holidays were looking worse and worse for her and her friends. A tear trickled down the blonde lady's cheek, which she hurriedly swiped away.

_Tap tap tap._

Quistis started at the sound of the rapping upon her door. She hurriedly rushed to open it, but found the hall was empty. Deciding someone was playing games, Quistis began to close the door but then she espied a bright red envelope lying on the floor. Ripping it open, Quistis read a short note that had apparently been written by Matt.

_"Dear Quistis," _stated the note, _"I have a little surprise for you. Meet me out by the rear entrance at eight o'clock sharp. Don't talk to anyone you see on the way, even me, or it will wreck the surprise. Dress warmly. Love, Matt"_

Wondering what Matt could possibly have to surprise her with, Quistis checked her watch. It was 7:23, she didn't have much time!

Bundled up in her new suede coat with fur trim, Quistis hurried through the halls. Curiosity was devouring her; Matt had never done anything this mysterious or exciting before. When Quistis exited through the narrow doorway of the parking garage, she stopped short.

Bathed in moonlight before her was an old fashioned chocobo-drawn sleigh. In the giant birds' preening, the bells of their harnesses jingled cheerfully. Throwing her head back in laughter, she wrapped her arms around Matt who was bundled up so snugly all she could see of him were his eyes above the muffler covering his face. A cloud had covered the moon and Quistis could barely even see her boyfriend's eyes in the shadow.

"It's so wonderful!" cried Quistis. Matt chuckled softly and took her hand to lead her into the sleigh.

"Ready?" he whispered.

Quistis nodded and pulled out a fur hat to cover her head with. "Why are you whispering, Matt?"

"Sore throat," he whispered as he gave the sleigh driver the cue to set out.

_That's odd, _Quistis thought, _he seemed okay at Nicole's party. Ah well… _

It was a perfect night as they traversed the Balamb countryside, the chocobos' harness bells jangling merrily. Quistis' smile did not waver as she snuggled against Matt who had his arm tightly around her shoulders.

As they plodded on, both remained silent. It was unlike Matt to be so quiet. The lovely young woman did not speak up about this for fear of causing him to begin spouting clichés again. Instead Quistis pressed her cold face into the warmth of his neck. She was surprised when her insides began to flip-flop in excitement. Deciding that Matt must have changed his cologne, Quistis went with the emotion.

_Maybe his cologne was the problem all along, _she mused.

They were on their way back to the Garden when Quistis said, "Oh, Matt, this was wonderful! It must have cost you so much gil!" Quistis knew that Matt tended to be something of a tightwad. _Actually, he's just plain cheap, _she admitted to herself.

"Nothing's too good for you, Quisty," he whispered.

Quistis giggled. _It's about time he caught on to my nickname. _"You are so sweet!" she reached to pull aside Matt's muffler in order to kiss him. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, obviously had other ideas and pulled away.

"Oh Matt," she chastised, "there's nothing sinful about kissing, we've done it plenty of times!"

"Contagious," was all he muttered, pointing a gloved hand to his throat.

They were just pulling up to the Garden and Quistis did not want to waste the moment. "Oh don't be silly," she said, forcefully pulling away his face covering. Quistis was stunned momentarily when she found the face staring back at her was not Matt's.

"Seifer!"

He turned his face away. "Yeah…"

Quistis knew she should be angry; in fact she tried to make herself so. But she could not. As the sleigh pulled to a stop, Quistis found herself pulling Seifer near. Without thinking she pressed her lips gently against Seifer's. He had just begun to kiss back when all of a sudden he pulled away. There was a strange look of fear in his eyes before he wordlessly turned from her.

After handing the driver an envelope stuffed with gil, Seifer leaped out of the sleigh only to disappear into the darkness. Quistis disembarked slowly, pondering what had just happened between them.

(A/N: Rinoa's Hyne quote was originally said by Buddha.)


	18. Monday, December the eighteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 18

Monday, December the Eighteenth

Cid and Edea set off for the town of Balamb in the former sorceress' sleek purple sports car. This was no pleasure drive and they both wore glum expressions. Cid had received a most disturbing phone call that afternoon and now they were both on their way to rectify the situation.

It wasn't hard to find Rinoa in the residential section of the town. All they had to do was follow the parade of gaudily bedecked houses. The young sorceress was busy at work wrapping number 1164 Morning Glory Circle in shiny green Mylar. Edea noticed that the residents of the house were fearfully peeking out their front window.

The married couple cautiously approached Rinoa, whom they had adopted as one of their children. When Rinoa saw them she waved briefly and resumed her decorating.

"Rinoa dear," said Edea, speaking first as they reached her side.

"Hello Matron!" Rinoa greeted. "Doesn't the town look so pretty now?"

Edea sighed. "Did these people give you permission to decorate their house?"

Rinoa continued tacking up the shiny metallic film with a staple gun. "Well, not exactly…"

Cid spoke up. "Didn't they in fact tell you NOT to decorate their house?"

Rinoa pursed her lips and gazed at the fatherly man. "Well, yes," she admitted, "but I know they didn't mean it."

"Now Rinoa, honey," Cid pressed, "why would you think that?"

"Who wouldn't want their house decorated for Solstice?"

Seeing Cid was getting nowhere with the situation, Edea took charge. "Come along now, Rinoa," she ordered, "It's time to go home."

"No."

"What?" Edea couldn't believe her ears, no one argued with her even though she was no longer a sorceress.

Rinoa crossed her arms and pouted. "I said NO!" she verily screamed.

"I said we are going, and we are going," Edea informed the young sorceress firmly. "Now come along."

Rinoa stomped her foot. "Uh-uh. I am not leaving until I have finished with every house on this street!"

Edea lacked the patience to argue further. Motioning to Cid, they each took one of Rinoa's arms and began to drag her to their car. The raven-haired teenager began to squeal, "Ah-oooh-eee!"

_Smack!_

Edea's slap shattered the air. "That'll be enough of that, young lady! These infantile shenanigans WILL stop and you will learn to control your power!"

Rinoa sniffled. "Yes, Matron," she said, rubbing Edea's handprint on her face and allowing herself to be led to the car.

After Rinoa was safely secured in the backseat, Edea directed, "Cid, go and tell those people we'll send someone to pick up Rinoa's belongings later. We must get her back to Garden immediately."

"Yes dear," he agreed.

When the trio returned to Garden, they passed by Quistis who smiled sadly at Rinoa. The instructor had heard about Rinoa's newest decorating exercise. Quistis was on her way up to try and talk some sense into Squall. Someone needed to intervene before Rinoa got herself into some real trouble. 

Quistis stood outside of Squall's office emotionally girding her loins. She realized if Rinoa and Squall were to ever reunite that someone needed to beard the lion (or was that Leonhart?) in his den. It didn't appear to her as though anyone else was going to volunteer to undertake this highly risky venture so the responsibility fell to her.

"Come in," Squall invited in a neutral tone after Quistis knocked on his office door. Taking that to be a positive sign, Quistis entered the office with a forced spring to her step and was astonished to observe Squall's desk was almost completely bereft of paperwork.

Instead he was sitting back in his chair resting his black booted clad feet on his desk while reading from a book entitled I'm OK, You're Not OK. Glancing up from his reading, he asked, "What's wrong? Something I need to take care of?"

"No, not exactly. Well...maybe, I need to speak with you about relationships," Quistis answered.

"What about relationships?" Squall asked in a sharp tone. He quickly sat up in his chair while dropping his feet to the floor.

"May I sit down?" the blonde woman inquired submissively. She understood instinctively if she were to reach Squall she needed to take a non-threatening tack.

"Whatever." The commander sighed, waving his hand diffidently at the chair in front of his desk.

Quistis sank down gratefully. A sudden inspiration struck her and the blonde SeeD expressed, "Matt and I have been having a great deal of difficulty in getting along and I was wondering if there was some insight you might have to help us."

"Oh," Squall responded, surprise evident in his tone. "I really can't say because I haven't been around much lately."

"Yeah, so I noticed. Why is that, Squall?" Quistis asked shyly.

"Well, I strongly dislike the holidays and I just want them to be over and I know I was just making everyone else's holidays miserable; plus Rinoa's not speaking to me because of that stupid wreath and then she thinks I made that prank dedication. She _should_ know I would never do anything like that."

"Squall, I think Rinoa first thought that, but I think she has come around to realizing that wasn't you," the blonde woman explained.

"Oh yeah?" he retorted. "Well, take a look at this," Squall requested while pulling a slip of paper from his jacket pocket and passing it to Quistis. "I found that next to the burning bag of crap outside my office."

The instructor recognized Seifer's thinly disguised handwriting immediately. "Squall, look at this closely and tell me you really think this is Rinoa's handwriting." She passed the paper back to the young commander.

Squall received the note back, looked at it closely for a few seconds and then pressed his hand into his forehead in his familiar gesture. He finally looked up and said, "What am I supposed to do now? Obviously this isn't Rinoa's handwriting and if I hadn't been so hell bent to think it was, I would have noticed that before."

"Well, since you asked me, I'll tell you what I would do, Squall," answered the devious young woman. "I would attempt to make an overture of peace with her, you know, just say hello and ask her how she is. I'm going to go, Squall. Thanks a lot. You really helped me."

As Quistis stood up to leave, Squall answered distractedly, "Oh...sure, no problem."

After the blonde woman had left his office, Squall looked up and thought, _Helped her? With what?_

_I wonder how Rinoa is doing…_

When Cid and Edea brought the highly upset Rinoa into the clinic, Dr. Kadowaki decided to only use a mild sedative on the young woman. She was uncertain how anything stronger could interact negatively with Rinoa's sorceress' power after she regained consciousness. The kindly doctor felt as though it was time she stepped in and had a serious heart to heart talk with the young woman before she did anything more serious to possibly harm herself.

The doctor assured Cid and Edea that she would do all she could do to help the young woman and then sent them on their way. Dr. Kadowaki then pulled up a stool next to Rinoa's bedside to await the young sorceress' return to consciousness. The doctor didn't have long to wait as thirty minutes later Rinoa opened her eyes.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Kadowaki gently asked.

"Okay," the young woman answered. "Am I free to go?"

"In a minute," the doctor explained. "I wish to speak with you for a minute."

"Oh?" Rinoa asked, distinctly arching her left eyebrow.

"What have you been attempting to accomplish, Rinoa?" the older woman asked.

"I'm trying to provide the happiest holidays possible for people," the dark-haired young woman answered.

"Is that what's been happening?" Dr. Kadowaki further questioned.

"Well, I don't know for certain," Rinoa answered flushing slightly. "I really can't speak for others you know."

"Okay, fair enough," the doctor conceded. "What about you? Have you been happy?"

Tears began to form in the corners of the young woman's eyes. "No, I haven't," the young woman murmured in a moment of honesty.

"Why not?"

"Well, all my friends are so unhappy and Squall's just been miserable to me and everybody else, and I just don't know what to do anymore," Rinoa admitted.

"So you attempted to control people's happiness by decorating?" the doctor conjectured.

Dr. Kadowaki felt gratified when she observed the sudden light of awareness enter the young sorceress' eyes. "Yes, you're absolutely right, that's exactly what I've been doing. And all the decorating in the world won't cause me or my friends to feel any happier, will it?"

The doctor gently shook her head no in agreement. "So what do you think you need to do?"

"Well, The Book of Hyne teaches that happiness must come from the inside of a person, not the outside, so I must work first on being happy with myself."

Dr. Kadowaki nodded her affirmation and sat back well satisfied. "Well, you are free to go Rinoa, if you feel up to it.

"You know… I'm feeling kinda sleepy," said Rinoa, not ready to face her friends, "is it okay if I nap some more?"

"Of course," answered the doctor, "Take as long as you need."

~*~

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Quistis addressed her class after collecting the papers from the pop quiz, "I want you to read the new chapter on the care of GFs while I grade these." She sat down and immediately set about her task.

A few moments later the instructor looked up sharply at a group of students who were whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Quistis had woken up with a headache that morning and was not in the best of moods. "Mr. Strife!" She singled out the student she knew to be the instigator. "How many times have I told you not to speak out of turn?"

"Uhhh…" stammered the spiky-haired blond boy, "I –I forget…"

Quistis shook her head slowly in frustration. "I am growing weary of this convenient amnesia of yours. Perhaps an afternoon spent in work detail will improve your memory?"

The boy flushed in embarrassment. "Yes, Instructor Trepe," he mumbled, going back to his reading.

Quistis finished grading the quiz before her and then turned to the next one. The name 'Amanda Huggenkiss' attracted her attention. _She's a student of mine? _wondered the perplexed teacher as she looked over her class in a search for the mysterious Amanda. Her eyes fell upon a familiar red-haired female sitting at the back. The 'woman's' green eyes peered back at Quistis boldly. 

"Amanda," said Quistis, holding back laughter as she noticed her pseudo-student had a very distinct five-o'clock shadow, "will you please come up here?"

The redhead smiled mischievously and stood slowly, 'her' eyes never wavering from the instructor's.  It was then that Quistis noticed the red-buttoned remote control in 'Amanda's' hands and Quistis braced herself for whatever was coming next.

As soon as said button was depressed, the air conditioning system clicked on and began shooting out artificial snow. Quistis' class was a scene of bedlam as many of the students panicked and began jumping out of their seats crashing into one another. 

"Everyone out!" Quistis instructed, "Class dismissed!" The mob moved quickly out the door leaving Quistis alone with the red-wigged figure. The artificial snowstorm blew around them as Quistis reached up and yanked off the wig.

Seifer grinned wickedly at her. 

"You know, Seifer, red hair just does not become you. Well, at least you wore pants this time."

He laughed in response, winking at her.

"And what, may I ask," she continued, "was the purpose of this mess?"

"I wanted to see you alone," he explained.

Quistis couldn't help but to smile, as she was secretly flattered. Putting her hands to her hips the blonde woman asked, "You couldn't wait until my class was over?"

"Nope."

Quistis sighed. "Oh, Seifer, what am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of a few things," he retorted. Without warning, Seifer picked Quistis up by the waist and swung her around. They both laughed loudly as they twirled through the snow together. 

After Seifer returned Quistis to her feet she asked, "Amanda Huggenkiss, huh?" finally getting the joke.

 "I thought you could use one," he explained, "And who better than this one?"  He bent down and kissed her deeply. Then he darted out into the hallway leaving his love interest swooning against her desk.

Quistis' students, having wasted no time in escaping from class, had departed, leaving the corridor empty. As Seifer exited the classroom, Nicole had just rounded the bend from the hallway that led to the elevator. She had her arms piled high with books that she was delivering at the request of Instructor Aki.

Seeing Seifer, Nicole screeched, "Ekkkkk!" She grew ashen as Seifer stood there gazing at her in amusement. "It's Sei- sei- sei-."

"Seifer!" he finished for her, leaning toward her and making claws out of his hands in a menacing fashion. "Mwahahaha!" he cackled as evilly as he could.

"Ekkkk!" the librarian screamed again as she dropped her cargo of reading materials. Nicole turned tail and ran as fast as she could to the elevator. Upon hearing hysterical laughter behind him, Seifer turned and flashed Quistis a wink before disappearing into one of the secret doors.

~*~

It was only mid-afternoon but it felt as though it had already been a full day to everyone present in the SeeD dayroom. Selphie, Nicole, Andrea, and Quistis sat quietly just enjoying the silence for a change. Selphie was curled up on one end of a couch, completely comfortable because of her diminutive size. She was half asleep with her head resting on the armrest.

Nicole and Andrea were sitting in the corner and sharing their concern and worry over Rinoa's latest debacle in the city of Balamb. They were both frightened she was going to end up locked up in the disciplinary room or worse her father, General Fury Caraway would be called from Deling City to come pick up his head strong and capricious daughter. He would have little patience with her foolishness as had been proven in the past. She would probably be placed in the Vinzer Deling State Mental Hospital, a place that was more commonly known as 'the snake pit.'

Quistis was sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her with her head thrown back in a very unlady-like fashion against the back of the couch she was sitting on. She was half asleep but had recently been ruminating on whether she had accomplished anything worthwhile in her talk with Squall. She emitted a deep sigh while supposing that time will tell.

Matt entered the dayroom rather hurriedly catching everyone by surprise. Quistis, who was more attuned to her boyfriend's moods than the others in the room, asked, "Something wrong, Matt?"

"Well, I was taking my trash down to the garbage room. You know, how I like to take my trash down every day and keep my room immaculate," Matt explained.

Quistis sighed but didn't say anything, not wishing to comment any further on what she considered to be Matt's obsessive-compulsive cleanliness problem.

"Well, what's the rest of it, Matt?" Selphie asked impatiently.

"Zell was down there and he looked pretty wild-eyed and crazy and he was throwing trash all over the place. He wouldn't talk to me when I asked him what was wrong," Matt complained.

"That's certainly hard to believe," Quistis commented dryly.

"Yeah, I know," Matt agreed. "I couldn't believe it either. That's when I decided something must be wrong and I'd better come up and tell you all."

Selphie giggled while glancing at Quistis and then declared, "Ok, don't fret your pretty head any longer, I'll go see what's wrong."

After Selphie had left to go help Zell with whatever his problem was and Matt had excused himself to go finish his cleaning, Andrea and Nicole held a short but intense conversation. Even though Quistis was trying to not eavesdrop, she did hear Nicole implore Andrea to please go check on Zell since she felt as though if she went herself she "would only make things worse." Andrea left soon after that.

As soon as Selphie arrived in the basement, she discovered that Matt had spoken the truth. Zell had strewn trash everywhere willy-nilly and he himself wasn't even visible for the moment since he had dove into the larger pile. The green-eyed SeeD only knew he was there because she could hear him muttering imprecations to himself.

"Zell!" Selphie called out. Zell soon worked his way back out of the huge pile looking like a seal coming out of a snowdrift. A banana peel hung from his hair, though he did not seem to notice.

"What?" he asked. Selphie noticed he did indeed look all wild-eyed and flushed.

"Just because Nicole is angry with you is no reason to throw yourself in the trash," the brown-haired young woman exclaimed.

Before the excitable young man could muster an answer to that suggestion, Andrea entered the basement trash room. She strode over to him and took him by the arm and pulled him from the trash pile.

"Now who threw this perfectly good white boy away?" she joked. "I'll take him if nobody else wants him," Andrea only halfway kidded.

Selphie inquired, "No really, Zell. What's up here? What are you doing?"

"It doesn't matter!" he cried out. "Nothing matters if I don't find it. But it's not here, I looked. I know, I'll go search the landfill," Zell declared. And then he ran from the trash area to the elevators to take him back up.

Andrea looked at Selphie completely bewildered and asked, "What in the world was that all about?"

"I don't have the slightest idea, but I know it's something terrible."


	19. Tuesday, December the nineteenth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 19

Tuesday, December the Nineteenth

Final Fantasy VIII characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft.

Xu, bursting into Cid's office, disturbed his breakfast of a Fruitrigrain bar and a pineapple smoothie. "Come quickly, Sir! We have a bit of a situation out front!" She breathed heavily, her full bosom heaving up and down.

Cid was momentarily distracted before the immediacy of Xu's words sunk into his head. "What's wrong, my dear? Is Rinoa Angel Winging again?"

"No, no!" cried Xu, "please, come with me."

Realizing something serious was happening the aging man followed Xu to the front of Garden. Once there he could not believe his eyes. It seemed every resident of Balamb was there with a sign, chanting and protesting. What they were protesting, however, Cid could not be sure until a representative of the town approached him.

The owner of the hotel walked up to Cid with an embarrassed expression. "Uh, hey, Cid," he greeted his old friend.

"Hello George," responded Cid. "Er... what's happening here?"

George scuffled his shoes in the dirt. "The whole town's in an uproar 'cause the holiday lights are so bright on this here buildin' no one can get any sleep."

"Ohhh..." Cid scratched his head. "I don't see how we're going to remedy the situation," said Cid, "many of my students are worked up over the holidays and it would sure disappoint them to have to undo the decorating..."

George chuckled. "Oh that's okay. You see, the townsfolk... they don't want to ruin your holiday, they just want..."

"Yes?"

"Well, you see, Cid...umm...the whole town's been saving for a Solstice jamboree, and we're about a hundred-thousand gil short." George rubbed his fingers together in the international hand signal for cash.

Catching his innuendo, Cid said, "Consider it paid for. I'll send a messenger to you in the morning." He knew he was being taken, but Cid didn't know what else to do.

"Oh great!" exclaimed George. " Hey, everyone!" he called to the crowd, "We got it!" The hotel owner gave the protesters the thumbs up sign and the crowd began to disperse.

"Sir," said Xu with a worried voice, "can Garden afford that?" The two walked back in through the main entrance.

"It'll have to, Xu," said Cid, "that's what the holidays are all about!"

~*~

Deciding to take Quistis' advice, Squall was on a mission to find his estranged girlfriend. He soon found her in the Quad reading to a large group of students from a very thick book. She was dressed in flowing ice blue robes, and even Squall had to admit she looked lovely.

Weaving his way through the crowd, the commander approached Rinoa. She looked up at him with a questioning expression. "Um, hi Squall," she said.

"Hey Rin... er... how've you been?"

"Fine thanks," she answered coolly. When Rinoa returned to her reading as if he wasn't even there, Squall became frustrated and gave up. He turned and started to leave, but Rinoa called him back. "Was there something you wanted, dear?"

"Actually," said Squall, "there was." He jammed his hands deep into his jacket pockets and shuffled his feet. "Could I talk to you in private?"

"Oh sure." The young sorceress stood up and addressed her flock. "I shall return, my children, please ponder what I have taught you today."

As the uncomfortable couple walked through the corridor on the way to Squall's office Rinoa remarked, "I've been needing to talk to you anyway."

"Have you now?" Squall guided his girlfriend into his office and the door slid closed behind them. "What about?"

Rinoa clutched her holy book tight against her chest. "Well, I understand that you don't love me anymore, but..."

"What?" Squall barked out in surprise.

Rinoa sighed and continued. "But I need to remind you of your divine duty as my knight."

Squall pressed his palm to his forehead. "Do you think we could discuss this at another time?"

She shook her head. "No, Squall, this is most important. Your very soul could be in jeopardy if you don't fulfill your obligation to me. That vow you made to me was sacred, I can't just go out and find myself a new protector!"

"Rinoa-" Squall tried to interject but she cut him off.

"Hyne says... um where was that quote?" The self-appointed guru quickly flipped through the pages of  The Book of Hyne.  "Ah yes, here it is. Hyne says, 'Activate yourself to duty by remembering your position, who you are, and what you have obliged yourself to be.'"

Squall crossed his arms tightly and glared at Rinoa in frustration. "What is with you lately?"

"Huh?"

Squall flopped wearily into his desk chair. "This just isn't like you Rinoa."

The ebony-haired beauty lifted her chin proudly. "I've learned the truth, Squall."

"The truth?" Squall suppressed a laugh. "Are you telling me you actually believe this junk?"

Rinoa opened her brown eyes wide. "Junk? Junk?" Her hands began to shake and her face contorted in anger.

"I know how you go through these phases and get all obsessive..." Squall was attempting to keep his voice even and calm.

Rinoa stomped her foot. "You may think Mystic Hyneism is just a phase to me, Squall, but I assure you I am serious about this." She leaned over Squall's desk. "So serious it hurts."

Squall was suddenly overcome by a feeling of déjà vu. His mind instantly returned to a similar argument he had with Rinoa during the war. He swallowed trying to clear the lump that had formed in his throat. "Now, don't get all upset, Rinoa."

Rinoa forced out a smile. "I am not upset, Squall," Rinoa lied, her voice rising several decibels. "But I am not going to speak to you until you can listen to me with an open mind!" The Mystic Hyneist whirled about and flounced from the office, leaving Squall alone.

_ Well, that went well, _ thought Squall sarcastically.

Rinoa quickly located Andrea and Selphie who were discussing some of the final plans for the Winterfest Ball in the cafeteria. When she saw them, Rinoa immediately burst into tears.

"Oh, Rinoa!" cried Andrea, rushing over to her dear friend. "What's wrong?" Nicole, who had been purchasing a snack, and Selphie also ran to Rinoa's side.

"I t-talked to Squall," she began to explain.

"Oh," said Selphie, "that was your first mistake right there."

Rinoa continued, "He's so stubborn, he just wouldn't listen to me... we'll never get back together at this rate." She began to sob all the louder.

An idea came to Selphie just then and she excused herself to make a phone call.

In the confines of her office Selphie pulled out her cell phone and pulled up a rarely used number. The line rang twice before it was answered by a sweet sounding voice.

"Oh Elle!" cried Selphie, "I'm so glad you're there!"

"Selphie?" asked Ellone, "What's wrong? You sound so upset!"

Selphie proceeded to blurt out all that had transpired between Rinoa and Squall, Nicole and Zell, and herself and Irvine. Selphie also tacked on how depressed Quistis had been lately.

"With everyone fighting our Solstice celebration is gonna suck!" screeched Selphie.

"Oh my!" said Ellone, obviously very disturbed by all Selphie had told her. "I'll try to come up with something," the older woman assured her orphanage comrade, "We'll speak more tomorrow when I get there."

"Okay," agreed Selphie, sniffling. "Is Sir Laguna still coming?"

"Well, he was last time I spoke with him. Of course that was a whole week ago."

"If he doesn't show it'll just ruin everything," cried the green-eyed sprite.

On the other end of the line, Ellone sighed. "You just relax, Sefie, I'm sure he'll come. He seemed quite excited about seeing Squall again after all this time. Now, I'll talk to you tomorrow, try to hang in there, okay?"

"Okay," Selphie agreed.

When she returned to the cafeteria she saw Nicole and Andrea had managed to calm Rinoa. Nicole was reading to Rinoa from  The Book of Hyne.  "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding," read Nicole, "Even as the stone of the fruit must break so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain."

_Wow, _ thought Selphie, _ There's something in that book for every occasion. _

~*~

Rinoa entered the library carrying a children's book entitled  The Winter Witch. A circle of children was already waiting for the young sorceress in the back room of the library. Also there were a few of her disciples and Nicole, Selphie, Quistis, and Andrea.

She was very surprised to observe a puppet theatre set up in the corner of the room. The young sorceress nudged Selphie and inquired, "What's that puppet theatre doing here?"

"I don't have the slightest idea." Selphie shook her head. "It's nothing I have planned or that's been scheduled through me."

A tall man suddenly stood up from behind the theatre. He was appareled in a traditional court jester's costume of many brightly colored diamond shaped patches. The floppy hat on his head had multiple arms like an octopus with a bell on each end. The man's face was completely covered by a mask.

"Come children!" he called out in a high-pitched voice.

The children broke ranks as one, quickly jumping to their feet and racing to the puppet theatre. "No running in the library," Nicole couldn't help but call out.

"Everyone please be seated," Selphie ordered.

The children clambered to obey, sensing something special and out of the ordinary was going to transpire. Once every child was seated, the mysterious puppeteer stepped to the young women who had remained standing in the background.

"It is good fortune you all are present, for I have need of an assistant. How about you, young lady?" the man asked and reached and wrapped Quistis' hand in his.

"Okay..." she gulped.

"Good show!" the puppeteer enthused and led her around the back of the theatre and helped her duck behind by guiding her until her knees rested on a large pillow.

"You don't fool me," Quistis softly accused. "I know who you are."

The man said nothing, but rather handed her a puppet she was to manipulate and held up the script between them. He then picked up a puppet of his own to perform with and the play commenced.

"Help! Save me! Save me!" cried out a beautiful strawberry-blonde haired puppet that was dressed in a pretty pink gown. She was running in terror from a huge ugly green dragon and a sword-toting brigand who shouted out, "You can't escape us now!"

"Save me!" Quistis called out again impersonating her puppet's voice. In her excitement to move her puppet she leaned heavily into the mystery man causing his voice to break slightly as he read the brigand's next line, "You come back here!"

It made the reading far more comical and the children roared with laughter. From her position near the back, Rinoa appeared thoughtful as she suddenly realized who that man really was and that Quistis had been correct all along. She decided to say nothing, however.

"My prince, where are you?" the beautiful puppet called out. As the blonde woman continued to lean heavily into the puppeteer he sat as if he were rooted to the very spot. "What's the holdup, prince?" Quistis hissed to him.

"My prince?" the female puppet cried out again. Suddenly the prince puppet appeared by popping up. "Sorry, I'm late," he explained.

"Where were you? I've been calling for you," Quistis shouted out actually feeling a little put out that he hadn't shown up before this.

"I promise I wasn't thinking anything weird," the prince puppet declared.

"What was that?" the young woman puppet asked excitedly. "What are you doing?" Quistis whispered. "That wasn't in the script."

"Just talking to myself," the male puppet explained. The children laughed uproariously even though to a rational human being the play was beginning to make no sense. As the young male puppeteer chose that moment to freeze completely, Quistis directed, "Say your line."

"Okay," he murmured, but remained silent.

"What's wrong? It's right here," the blonde woman pointed out on the script while completely leaning into the young man, pressing her firm left bosom into his chest. If his face hadn't been masked, it would have been noted that his forehead had broken out in a sheen of perspiration. "Go!" she demanded.

"I-I-I'm off to fight the monster," the prince stammered.

"Oh please don't go! That's a terrible fate. Stay here with me," Quistis had the young beauty intone in a seductive voice.

"Okay," the prince agreed. Quistis collapsed her puppet in surprise, as that was not the next line.

"What do you mean, okay?!" Quistis screamed through the puppet.

The male puppeteer suddenly remembered the script and murmured, "Oh, yeah." Again the children screamed in laughter at the confusion in the play.

Quistis' female puppet questioned, "Will you cast me aside and go off into battle?" She pushed even harder into the young man's chest. "Oh prince!" the female puppet cried out as Quistis pushed her puppet a little higher in the air so it could be seen easier by the children in the back her entire body now pressed against the mysterious young man.

"I love you!" Quistis called out. Of course, she said it as her puppet but there was so much emotion in her voice the statement seemed to ring and ring and ring in the sudden silence of the room.

"Oh Quistis!" the prince puppet moaned and he threw his arms around the female puppet before him.

"Look here, I am a princess, not a Quistis!" the blonde woman spoke, hoping to repair the male puppeteer's faux pas. "Farewell, my prince," the princess called out and sighed leaning forward to kiss the prince. Quistis' body once more pressed against the young man.

"Oh Quistis!" the prince moaned.

"Prince!" the female puppet screamed striking him over the head. "Farewell," she said once again and pushed him off the small puppet theatre stage while the prince called out in vain, "Quistis!"

The children were literally rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically. Rinoa stood engaging in her low throaty laugh understanding full well what had just transpired while Selphie, Nicole, and Andrea looked on confused but happy that the children enjoyed the confusing spectacle.

Behind the theatre still crouched on the floor, Quistis smiled and whispered, "See you later." She stood up while the mysterious young man disappeared into a panel in the wall. _ Let 'em wonder about that! _ he thought sardonically.

As Rinoa stepped to the front of the theatre to speak to the children, Quistis took her place in the back of the room. Selphie took the princess puppet from Quistis and inspected it closely.

"Look!" she whispered. "This puppet looks like you."

Quistis took it back and examined it more closely. _ It does look like me, _ she thought. _ With everything he does, Seifer continues to amaze me, _ The blonde woman surreptitiously tucked it away in the pocket of her skirt along with the prince puppet that looked suspiciously similar to a certain prankster she knew.

After a few moments the children had calmed enough for the young sorceress to proceed with her original plan. Rinoa took the seat that Nicole had provided for her.

"Good evening, children," said Rinoa, flashing a knowing glance at Quistis, who blushed as she realized her friend was in on the joke. "Tonight I am going to read you the story of the Winter Witch," she explained. "Have any of you heard this story before?"

When none of the children raised their hands, Rinoa smiled sadly. "I think you'll all enjoy this story," she told them, "my mom read this to me when I was a young girl." A dark cloud seemed to pass over the young sorceress' face, but then cleared away as she shared a piece of her childhood with these children, many of who were orphans.

"Long, long ago," she began, "the world was under the control of many sorceresses. Some were good, and some were evil and because of this they were always fighting with each other. Soon the people they ruled became very poor." Rinoa looked up and saw that many of the children were already enraptured with the tale and she went on. "There was one young sorceress who had no kingdom to rule and the poor people of the world made her very sad. She would travel around the world using her power to help the needy, giving them the things they needed to survive."

"Very soon this sorceress had many people following her around the world helping her to bring hope to the poor. This worried some of the other sorceresses, for they ruled by creating fear among the people. If the people no longer feared sorceresses, then the sorceresses would have no way to control anyone."

"So, a small group of sorceresses got together and used their power against the good sorceress. They banished her to the North Pole where she was trapped for many, many years."

"One day, a starving reindeer who had gotten lost from his herd wandered up to the door of the good sorceress' cabin. Being lonely, she took the reindeer in and they became good friends. She named her new friend Vixen. What the sorceress did not know, and was soon to discover, was that Vixen was a magical reindeer. Vixen could fly faster than time, but only on one night of the year. That night was the Solstice, the longest night of the year."

"When that night came the sorceress and Vixen were able to leave the North Pole and bring gifts to the world. Unfortunately because they had to be back home by daybreak, they could only deliver their presents to those who deserved them most. From then on she became known as the Winter Witch and people would leave snacks for her and Vixen in case they got hungry on their journey."

Rinoa saw that all of the children, and many of the adults listening in had been taken by her story. She smiled at them. "The End," she concluded.

Everyone burst out in applause. "Okay, children," said Nicole, "it's time for bed now." The librarian herded the young ones out of the library.

Suddenly a very cute little boy burst from the crowd and planted himself on Rinoa's lap. "Are yoo the Winter Witch?" he asked.

Rinoa laughed and hugged him close. "No," she said, "I'm not."

The sweet little boy kissed Rinoa on the cheek. "I think yoo are," he told her.

"Okay, Donald," said Nicole taking the child by the hand and leading him back to the others, "off to bed with you."

"Night night!" the little boy called out, waving. Those remaining in the library waved back.

"I thought that went wonderful, Rinoa," Irvine praised. "You were great," he said while slightly tipping his hat to her.

"Where did you come from?" she asked with surprise in her voice.

"I've been over there the entire time," the longhaired man explained pointing over to the far corner.

Before stepping away, wishing to not appear impolite, Rinoa asked, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, yes," Irvine answered, "there is, now that you've asked. I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Sure, if I can," the young sorceress replied helpfully. "What is it?"

Irvine responded by grasping Rinoa lightly on the arm and leading her out of the room. "I'll tell you out here. I want it to be a surprise and the walls have ears around here, you know." The dark-haired woman smiled and nodded knowingly as they left the library.

Selphie stood with her hands upon her hips staring after them with an unpleasant expression on her face.

Nicole asked, "Selphie, what do you think that was about?"

"I don't know," was her answer. "But I don't think I care for it much."

A/N: Rinoa's duty quote is from Thomas a Kempis; the passage about pain is from Kahlil Gibran's  The Prophet.  Apologies to the great Rumiko Takahashi for borrowing her puppet theatre scene from her manga and anime of  Maison Ikkoku. 


	20. Wednesday, December the twentieth

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Twenty

Wednesday, December the Twentieth

It was early in the morning; far earlier then classes would begin for the day. Zell was walking beside Quistis toward the first floor elevators. She had asked him to accompany her in order to help hack into 'The Chicks of Balamb' web site. When initially questioned, Zell had assured her that if the site were somewhere on the Garden network he could locate it and delete it, no matter what safeguards that might be built into it. Quistis was positive that Seifer was behind it, for no other reason then only he would have access to the photographs, etc. that would be needed for the web site. The instructor remembered the case of the missing computer that had never been solved and it was inconceivable that Seifer would also have a computer connection somewhere outside of the Garden, when it was obvious that he had access to one in the Garden.

As they walked along, Quistis glanced at Zell from the corner of her eye and she was highly upset at what she saw. Zell's clothes were wrinkled, his eyes were blood-shot as if he hadn't acquired any sleep, and his entire demeanor seemed to denote panic.

"Zell, are you okay?" the concerned young woman asked.

"Ok?!" he echoed in a shrill voice very unlike his normal one. "Why wouldn't I be ok?"

Before Quistis could respond, Zell continued. "As a matter of fact, I'm not ok. I'm very, very much not ok and it's doubtful I'm ever going to be ok again."

"What is it, Zell?" the instructor inquired now greatly concerned over her cohort's emotional and mental health. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Nobody can help me," he replied desolately. "I'm beyond help."

With that said, they stepped into the elevators and waited for the doors to close. Zell turned to the instructor and asked, "Where are we going to do this at?"

As they rode up the second floor, Quistis explained to the young blond man that she had already made prior arrangements with Xu to use the computer in her office. Next to Cid's, Xu had the most powerful computer in the Garden. Although if Seifer had contact to the one Quistis thought he did, he would have a computer that was even more powerful than the Headmaster's.

Xu's office was located at the end of corridor A. It had always been felt that it was a good idea for discipline and everything else for that matter associated with the students that her office be closely located with the classrooms. Hurrying down the corridor, upon their reaching Xu's office door, Quistis punched in the appropriate numbers into the code box and then opened the door.

The two SeeDs crossed the office to the large computer. Quistis pressed the necessary buttons to boot it and the computer went through its' usual complement of grindings and other such machinations until the computer screen at last flickered on with its' Welcome to Garden logo. The computer still needed to be further accessed if anything other than the word processing program were to be used.

Quistis bent over the keyboard and signed in as Xu, codeword: anugal. She then clicked with the 'hand' in the appropriate place to enter the Garden network directory. Once the instructor completed that task she moved from in front of the computer screen and allowed Zell to sit in front of it. He stretched out his arms in preparation and then intertwining his fingers he pushed his hands inside out cracking all the knuckles on his fingers.

Quistis winced. She had always hated the sound of that. "Now, let's see here," Zell half mumbled to himself.

A few minutes later, the normally excitable SeeD had discovered nothing pertaining to 'The Chicks of Balamb' web site, although it could be said that he had ruled out a number of possibilities. He had first used 'find' and had come up with zilch. Zell next did a very slow, methodical search of the entire directory and couldn't find a thing related to what he was searching for. The young man next searched some of the remaining places it could possibly be tucked away into and discovered bupkis.

Zell next took a look at some of the email code that had been printed out as hard copy to see if he could discover what the IP of the web site was. If he could find out what the IP was he would know if the web site was originating from one of the Garden computers. Again he could discover nothing. The only other thing the blond SeeD knew to do was to attempt to temporarily disengage the Garden's computer firewall in an effort to observe if the web site was somehow cleverly hidden behind the firewall therefore making it undetectable by the computer itself. Even though this would theoretically make the Garden's computers vulnerable to being hacked by outside sources, he was hoping to only have the firewall down for a short period of time. No matter what he attempted, Zell could not convince the firewall to drop its guard.

Feeling highly frustrated at this point, Zell smashed his fist down on the keyboard and the firewall dropped! There lay the scourge of young women everywhere, but particularly to those residing in the Garden – 'The Chicks of Balamb' web site.

"Well, the 'fighting machine' strikes again," Quistis joked making a reference to an earlier time. The young woman's attempt to lighten the situation fell flat as Zell totally ignored her, but instead he instantly deleted the web site completely. He didn't want to take the chance of looking at it and possibly seeing Nicole involved in it somewhere. Zell was frightened in his present mood if he had observed her on the site in her underwear or even worse, sans clothing, he might well have ended up murdering the perpetrator.

Of course the proprietors of the web site could have had it backed up in part or totally on floppy discs, but there was nothing Zell could do about that anyway. He patched the hole in the firewall that allowed the web site to be hidden away from the rest of the directory in the first place and replaced the firewall. There was nothing to prevent the web site from being uploaded again, but at least this time it couldn't be stashed somewhere unknown to everyone else.

Zell glanced up into Quistis' kind expression. "Well, that's it," he explained. "It's gone."

"Thank you so much," she expressed. "And I really appreciate you keeping this confidential until we can discover who is responsible for this. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known what to do. I was even considering attempting to send a virus in an email to the web site, but I was frightened as to what it might do to our entire network if it was connected with us."

"Yeah, I don't think Cid would have been okay with that." Zell offered a small smile. Quistis again wondered what could be making her friend so miserable.

Down on the MD level, Seifer swore and punched his fist one time on the desk beside the keyboard. The former knight realized he had just lost a substantial source of revenue. _Oh well_, he thought. _It was nice while it lasted_.  

Seifer knew there was only one person wise enough to know that he probably was the person behind 'The Chicks of Balamb' web site and to look for it somewhere in the Garden's own computer directory. _It_'_s _'_cause those jerks disobeyed the site rules and wrote directly to my pigeons_. _And just my luck _– _some of those written to had to be in **her** class_. _Well_, _I still have a lot of sets of bra and panties with the authenticating photos to go with them_. _I_'_ll just wait _'_til the heat dies down and then I_'_ll either reload the web site on Yippie_._com__ or I could try and sell it online sometime_. _I might be able to get Nida to sell it under the counter at the Flea Market_. _I_'_m sure he_'_d need the bread by then_. _Come to think of it_, _where has he been_? _You_'_d think he_'_d be the first one down here with his hand out after being expelled the way he was_. _Well_, _I guess I_'_ll go find Raij and see how he_'_s doing on that assignment I gave him_.

Quistis very carefully shut down the computer and left the office exactly as they had found it. She didn't want Xu to think she had gone through any personnel files or anything else for that matter. Besides she had already been through all the files, hers included, many times. The blonde woman had even managed to give herself a raise once in the time of financial emergency. It turned out that the fiscal department actually had no physical contact with the Garden, but was an accounting firm in Shumi Village so they never knew the difference. Quistis supposed that it was something that Norg had originally set up and then after he 'retired' Cid just never got around to changing it.

The two SeeDs left the office making certain the door was locked and silently made their way down the corridor which was beginning to fill with a few early bird students when they both were surprised to observe Selphie racing toward them, looking as scattered as ever.

"There you all are!" she exclaimed. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Is something wrong?" asked Quistis. She automatically noticed but made no conscious register that Zell had continued walking down the hall quietly in an attempt to ignore Selphie completely.

"Hang on, Zell!" Selphie clutched Zell by the upper arm. "I need to speak with you too." Turning to Quistis, the exuberant young woman inquired, "What are you doing at lunch time? Can you help me with the caroling party? They're so young and they're having such a difficult time learning the songs."

"Of course I will," the blonde beauty replied.

"Thanks so much," Selphie gushed. "Please meet me in the Quad as soon as you can after your classes are over for the morning." Returning her attention to Zell, the green-eyed woman questioned, "So you made the deposit to the caterers and you still have the money for the final payment, right?"

Quistis was quite distressed to observe that Zell had turned as pale as alabaster at Selphie's mention of the money. "T-T-The money," Zell stammered, "Of course, I still have the money. Now quit bugging me about the money," he angrily said.

"Ok, ok," Selphie responded, "but you can't blame me for being overly concerned. That is a lot of money, it would pay a few years of my salary, I'll tell you."

"All right Selphie, you've made your point," the male SeeD emphasized. "I have to run, I'll catch you all later."

As Zell did literally run down the corridor, Selphie turned to Quistis and asked, "Did it seem to you that he was acting strangely?"

The blonde instructor nodded silently while watching concernedly the back of her retreating friend. _Oh Hyne, Zell_, _what have you done now_?

~*~

As soon as Quistis entered the Quad area, she immediately understood what Selphie had meant. Even though the caroling party certainly was precious appearing being made up of both male and female junior classmen, ages ranging from five to ten years of age they seemed to be experiencing an absolutely horrible time attempting to remember the lines of the song they were rehearsing.

Quistis certainly recognized the tune as being the ultra traditional Thirteen Days of Solstice, although she would have been hard pressed to identify where the lyrics had come from.

The children sang, "On the first day of Solstice my true love sent to me a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. On the second day of Solstice my true love sent to me two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. On the third day of Solstice my true love sent to me three Grendels snoring…"

"No, no!" Selphie exclaimed. "It's not three Grendels snoring, it's three behemoths roaring. Now we've already been over this, now let's concentrate or we're going to be here all day until you get it right."

Quistis realized that Selphie was becoming beside herself with frustration and decided she'd better get over there and calm things down. _Two Selphies would just be one too many_, she thought with a giggle. A sudden burst of laughter from another area of the Quad caught the blonde instructor's attention and she turned her head to see where it had originated.

Quistis was quite startled to observe Irvine and Rinoa sitting closely beside each other on a stone bench laughing and talking with the familiarity of a couple who had gone together for years. Irvine asked, "What say we adjourn to a more private place?"

"Yes," Rinoa agreed. "I think that's a fabulous idea, why don't we?" And then she giggled as though she were a schoolgirl with her first crush.

The two of them strolled arm in arm from the Quad area. When Quistis returned her attention to Selphie she was almost repelled by the look of total malevolence on her friend's face. _Shiva_! _If looks could kill_, _that_'_d be one dead sorceress_.

"Miz Selphie," an awesomely cute little towheaded boy named Donald, who knew his cuteness was his stock in trade, asked, "Why are these words so stwange? These aren't the really words are they?"

"That's an excellent question, Donald," Selphie answered in an extremely loud shrill voice. "These lyrics are so stwange – I mean strange, because Miss Rinoa wrote them special for you kids to sing."

Quistis noticed that Selphie's taunting was all in vain as Irvine and Rinoa had already passed out of immediate earshot. She hurried over to her friend before she engaged in even more outrageous behavior.

"Selphie, I'm here to help," the blonde instructor presented herself.

"Oh, hi Quistis," Selphie replied distractedly while attempting to peer over her friend's shoulder as though she could still espy what her former boyfriend and former friend were now doing.

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Quistis. When Selphie continued to not answer but to stare forlornly past her, the young woman suddenly snapped her middle finger and thumb in front of her friend's face. "Earth to Selphie, come in, Selphie."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Quistis. I just have a lot on my mind, now what were you saying?"

"What do you want me to do?" she repeated again patiently.

"Woo-hoo!" Selphie screamed. "There's Sis!"

Quistis turned her head in the direction her friend appeared to be aiming her screaming and observed Ellone walking into the Quad area. The three women were quickly reunited and after a brief but warm greeting. Quistis took over directing the caroling party while Selphie caught Ellone up on what had been happening over the last couple of weeks.

The children sang, "On the first day of Solstice my true love sent to me a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. On the second day of Solstice my true love sent to me two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. On the third day of Solstice my true love sent to me three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

Ellone noticed right off that Selphie was looking a little stranger than usual, even for Selphie. "What's the source of your perturbation?"

"Huh?" the young woman responded.

"What's bothering you? Are things worse here?" Ellone inquired in a more succinct manner.

The caroling party continued singing, "On the fourth day of Solstice my true love sent to me four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

"On the fifth day of Solstice my true love sent to me five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

"No, well, yes, of course things are worse here," the green-eyed woman admitted, "but that's not what bothering me. It's what you're wearing."

"What I'm wearing?" Elle said, while glancing down at her _Lone Chocobo_ T-shirt and blue jeans. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing? Oh, I get it. You think I dress up all the time, didn't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. I've never seen you not wearing a tasteful dress."

Ellone laughed. "Another myth shattered!"

The children sang, "On the sixth day of Solstice my true love sent to me six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. 

On the seventh day of Solstice my true love sent to me seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

"As a matter of fact," the newly arrived visitor continued, "I was housecleaning just before I left and I didn't even take the time to take a shower, much less throw on a fancy outfit."

Selphie appeared completely mystified. "You were housecleaning the Presidential Palace? Don't they have maids for that?"

The brunette woman laughed again. "I don't live in the Palace. I have my own apartment. In fact, Uncle Laguna has his own place too, truth be known. It's only the public that thinks he still resides in the Palace."

The shrill, off key singing continued. "On the eighth day of Solstice my true love sent to me eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. 

On the ninth day of Solstice my true love sent to me nine Pupurun returning, eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree.

"Speaking of Uncle Laguna, he can't make it due to needing to be in attendance at some crucial state business."

"OH SUPER-DUPER-MEGA-BUMMER!" Selphie cried out. "This will wreck everything. Things are so bad with Squall he needed both of you here!"

And still the children sang on. "On the tenth day of Solstice my true love sent to me ten bombs a-bursting, nine Pupurun returning, eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. 

On the eleventh day of Solstice my true love sent to me eleven Trepies whining, ten bombs a-bursting, nine Pupurun returning, eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

"I know that's right," Elle agreed. "I've already spoken to Squall and he was incredibly rude. He told me in no uncertain terms if I were here to have anything to do with attempting to cheer him up that I should go right back home to Esthar."

"What did you say?" Selphie wondered.

"I told him Happy Solstice!"

Selphie cackled. "You go girl!"

The caroling party had the last word. "On the twelfth day of Solstice my true love sent to me twelve Chocobos preening, eleven Trepies whining, ten bombs a-bursting, nine Pupurun returning, eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree. 

On the thirteenth day of Solstice my true love sent to me thirteen knights a-lying, twelve Chocobos preening, eleven Trepies whining, ten bombs a-bursting, nine Pupurun returning, eight SeeDs a-snacking, seven Malboros belching, six Grendels snoring, five Odine bangles, four laughing imps, three behemoths roaring, two Geezards and a Thrustaevis in a pear tree."

"Ok children," Quistis praised, "that was much better, but we need to do it again. Take it from the top, Donald!"

~*~

Quistis dismissed her last class for the day, which was a graduate level symposium entitled 'An Exploration into the Possible Ethical Considerations of Maintaining a Physical Relationship With a Guardian Force.' She usually enjoyed leading the class because the graduate level students were far smarter than her ordinary classes and would often give her an intellectual run for her money. Unfortunately sometimes the extra mental and/or psychological stimulation would leave Quistis feeling uncomfortably hyper for some reason she had been unable to fathom.

The young instructor was supposed to meet Matt in the coffee shop directly after class, but Quistis didn't feel as though she wanted to just go somewhere and sit. She realized she wanted to do _something_! She just was uncertain as to what that might be, and she had no desire to join the carolers who were gathering in the main atrium. The entire situation became clearer for her when she stepped out into the corridor after all the students had left for the day and espied Seifer at the end of the long hallway.

Quistis instinctively began to call out to him but then managed to stop herself because of the dangerous predicament it might have left him in if she had and someone else had heard her. The young man quickly disappeared into the wall.

_Boy_, _that_'_s slick_, she thought while walking down the hallway to where Seifer had been but a second before. Glancing around to make certain that there weren't any upperclassman stragglers lurking about in the corridor, Quistis examined the wall closely where she had seen the former knight disappear. Suddenly she could see where the ever so minute crack ran up the wall indicating where the door was.

Quistis hesitated, wondering what she should do. Maybe Seifer didn't want her down there and it would cause him to become furious with her. The blonde woman had witnessed enough anger during this Solstice season; she really didn't want to experience any more right now.

_But maybe he had waiting for me to come out so he could lead me down_, she thought. _After all I've never seen him in the hallways like that before_. Throwing caution to the wind, Quistis pushed in on the wall hard and almost tumbled into the passageway. Managing to right herself without falling, she looked around and then decided to head down assuming Seifer had been heading back to the MD level.

A level further down Seifer had run into Raijin and Fujin who had been out on their respective assignments. Raijin was reporting as to what he had discovered.

"You were right, ya know," Raijin said. "I took one of Andrea's hairs and one of Rinoa's and paid to have them DNA scanned, ya know."

"And?" Seifer questioned arching his left eyebrow.

"Ninety-nine percent chance that they are closely related, ya know," was the answer.

"Hmm," Seifer expressed thoughtfully holding up his black-gloved right hand up to his face. "I wonder what I can do with this?"

"WHY?" Fujin asked.

The former knight glanced at her. "Problem?" he asked.

"HAPPY?"

Seifer straightened his arms out while answering, "Me? Of course, why wouldn't I be? We have a very comfortable home for as long as we want it, we're safe, and we've got each other. What else is there?"

Fujin arched an eyebrow as an answer. When she didn't respond otherwise, their leader suddenly explained, "I'm going back up and look around. Gotta keep moving, people. You know that."

Quistis realized Seifer was returning to the floor where she was currently standing. As she waited for his arrival, she thought about his answer to Fujin's question and how every word had sounded to her as being laced in an elemental sadness.

Seifer made it up to the floor where Quistis waited in such a distracted hurry he collided with her. The instructor stumbled backward and almost fell but Seifer caught her.

"Quistis!" exclaimed Seifer, "What are you doing here?"

"I was… bored. I thought you might like some company." Seifer was still holding her and she made no move to get away.

Seifer smiled. "I'd think you'd be caroling with all the others." The strains of song from somewhere within Garden filtered down through the floors and Seifer's hackles stood on end.

Quistis shrugged. "Well, I can only stomach so much of that," she explained, 'It's far to joyful and… and…"

"Triumphant," Seifer finished for her.  They both laughed.

The blonde pair looked at each other in the dim light of the tunnel. Seifer still had his arms around his former instructor. Quistis moved closer, gazing up at him, her blue eyes sparkling. Without warning she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly.

"What about Matt?" Seifer asked. 

Quistis dropped her hands and looked away. "It's right before solstice…"

The blond man let go of Quistis as if she burned him. "Yeah, that would be cruel, wouldn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, yeah, and-" she stopped suddenly.

"And…?"

Quistis sighed deeply. "I could get fired if anyone found out that I… that is to say, we…"

"Oh I get it," grumbled Seifer, "you're embarrassed to let anyone know about us."

"It's not that!"

"Right, whatever…" Seifer slunk away into the darkness.

"Where are you going?" she asked, following.

"I'm going to think," he told her, picking up his pace. "Just leave me alone." And he disappeared into the gloom.

.


	21. Thursday, December the Twentyfirst

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 21

Thursday, December the Twenty-first

Final Fantasy VIII characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft.

"What's all the fuss?" Matt asked as he and Quistis walked into the cafeteria for breakfast. He was referring to the furor surrounding the table at which Ellone was seated. Selphie had managed to push a number of the small tables together so that she, Ellone, Irvine, Zell, Nicole, Andrea, and Rinoa could sit together. The only person who was conspicuously absent was Squall.

"That's my big sister," Quistis explained proudly.

"Your big sister? I thought you had said you were an orphan."

"Oh Matt." Quistis sighed. "Did you ever listen to one word I've said?"

"Oh Quissy, that's not fair," Matt complained.

"Whatever."

Approaching her friends, Quistis called out a greeting to Ellone and was rewarded with a cheerful smile.

"Who's your handsome friend, Quisty?" Elle asked.

After the introductions were accomplished, Matt excused himself citing the need to prepare himself for his classes. Quistis found it strange realizing she too had classes to teach that day but she didn't feel the need to have to go get ready that soon.

_ He was very nervous for some reason. I wonder why? _ she thought.

Quistis had no sooner sat down and began to get caught up to date with Ellone, when she suddenly heard a general din of conversational noise. Raising her head, she glanced toward the front of the cafeteria, Quistis observed the President of Esthar entering the room.

_ It's as though a rock star just entered the room. _

It was true. The crowd of young people who immediately surrounded Laguna at the first sight of him were either pushing their hands forward to be touched by him, if only just for a second or they were holding out writing instruments and small pieces of paper to be autographed by him. Laguna's further progress was impossible so several people from their table led by Selphie rescued the older man and led him to where they were sitting.

Quistis' glance happened to fall upon Rinoa, who appeared quite beautiful sitting there in her long robes. The blonde woman realized that the young sorceress truly looked beatific.

_ She actually is glowing, _ Quistis thought as she could literally see Rinoa's aura. A sudden insight struck the young instructor's mind as to where she had observed that particular glow previously. _ Uh oh, _ she thought in an understatement.

Laguna pulled up a chair and sat down while greeting everyone individually that was sitting at the table. Ellone was beaming with happiness at the man's obvious change of plans and Selphie's entire countenance was ecstatic as she gushed, "Oh Sir Laguna, it's so wonderful you could come."

Esthar's President ducked his head slightly in embarrassment as he had asked Selphie time and again to not call him by that particular appellation. So far she had paid absolutely no attention to his desire.

"Thank you everybody for that wonderful welcome," he spoke nodding at the people sitting at the table. "I was able to sneak out of a World Trade Commission meeting by pretending I needed to use the restroom." When he saw the looks upon his companion's faces, he quickly explained, "It's okay; I left Kiros and Ward there. They can handle it easily. Besides what could be more important than spending the holidays with my son and his close friends? By the way," he inquired while glancing around, "where is Squall?"

The table fell completely silent as the youthful President looked in askance from face to face until Ellone spoke as if in unspoken agreement with the others at the table. As she began explaining, everyone else present, sans Laguna, breathed a sigh of relief. Ellone quickly and succinctly informed her 'Uncle' of Squall's behavior over the past few weeks and when she had finished, Laguna's emotional pain concerning his son was quite evident on his face.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised quietly.

Soon after that, most of the SeeDs had to report to their daily duties. Laguna sat talking quietly mostly with Rinoa, who he instinctively realized was going through an emotional crisis. He was content just to listen to her as she talked further of her hurt and pain over Squall's progressing dysfunctional behavior and her joy and feelings of comfort from her new belief in Mystic Hyneism.

Laguna had no formal religious leanings, although his view was one of tolerance; 'whatever worked' was his personal credo. Before he had bid adieu to his son's close friend, Rinoa had asked him if he happened to leave the Garden for any reason could he pick her up a few necessities because she would be busy with her disciples all day preparing for the holidays. Laguna had agreed, if it became possible.

Ellone had already left with Selphie and, after Rinoa reunited with a large group of her disciples who were waiting for her outside of the cafeteria, Laguna decided to visit his son. He stood outside of Squall's office for several seconds, taking deep breathes in an attempt to completely calm himself in preparation for what Laguna assumed would be a scene that would try the patience of a saint, much less him. The older man was determined to maintain a positive attitude and not lose his temper no matter what his quarrelsome son might utter.

"Who is it?" Squall called out after Laguna made his attendance known by knocking on the door.

"It's me son, Laguna."

"Go away, I don't want to talk to anybody right now. I'm busy," the young man said rudely.

Not paying any attention at all to his son's directive, Laguna attempted to open the door and was amazed to discover it unlocked. He audaciously strode into the room. Squall glanced up in surprise from the book he was reading, the  Will to Power  by Friedrich Nietzsche.

"Oh, I tried to read that one time," Laguna said as way of greeting. "I couldn't make head nor tail of it."

"Imagine that," Squall commented dryly. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you. That's why I traveled all the way from Esthar."

"Somebody told you to come talk to me, didn't they?" the commander accused.

"Uh...um." Too late! The look alone on Laguna's face told Squall he was correct. The President had always been unable to equivocate.

Squall stood up. "I'm leaving, why don't you stay here and talk to me."

"Show some respect, boy. That's your father," the mysterious voice said angrily.

Squall whirled around although he already knew there wouldn't be anybody there. "Do you hear that?" he demanded.

"Hear what?"

"Never mind," the frustrated young man answered.

"Are you hearing voices?"

"I said never mind," Squall responded.

"You're not Hyne, you're not even a sorceress. You're just a simple mortal. You need to beware, you know not what you are fooling with," the voice explained.

As Squall strode from his office, he thought, _ If I keep having these hallucinations, I'm gonna have to talk to the doctor. But not until I get Rinoa on some kind of medication first. _

Squall jammed the front end of the Garden truck into the narrow parking space in the Balamb municipal parking lot while simultaneously stomping on the clutch, brakes, and downshifting to neutral and pulling on the emergency brake all in one motion. Squall was angry.

"I don't know why we brought this old beat up truck when we could have brought a brand new car instead," Laguna pointed out.

"I'm not listening," Squall answered while he exited the truck. Meeting his father around the back of the truck, the young commander explained, "Now I'm not here to go on some long damn shopping expedition. I came down here to get Rinoa her holiday gift, so do what you have to do and hurry up!"

"Since when you did start cursing?" asked his concerned father. Squall answered by pressing the palm of his hand into his forehand as if attempting to banish the headache that was quickly forming.

The larger than life pair, father and son, hadn't taken two steps when a cry went up. "Hey! There's President Loire!" Everyone within earshot of the initial call quickly surrounded Laguna. He stood helplessly attempting to shake hands being offered him and signing autographs in a number of strange places while watching in frustration as Squall left the scene without looking back.

Fifteen minutes later Squall was a customer in the Balamb Jewelry Consortium _ (If it's from Balamb Jewelry, then it's for life). _ He had just purchased a very expensive bouquet of hand blown crystal roses that he planned to present to Rinoa as a Solstice gift.

The commander had just finished making payment and accepting the colorfully wrapped purchase. Much to Squall's embarrassment, Laguna took that particular moment to enter the exclusive shop toting a hundred pound bag of dry dog food for Angelo. The young man immediately observed the look of alarm on the shop's proprietor's face and attempted to redirect the older man back to the outside.

"Wait a minute, will you?" Laguna asked. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

The older man proceeded to drop the dog food bag down on the counter. The sound of a nauseating _ crunch _ filled the store.

"Uh oh," Laguna murmured in an understatement. Squall reached under the huge bag and pulled out the once finely wrapped gift that was now in tatters and had tiny pieces of glass falling out.

Turning to the clerk, the young man asked, "Would you happen to have another one of these?" After the purchase had been made of the second bouquet of crystal roses, Laguna offered to pay Squall for both gifts.

"No," Squall replied laconically.

"But -."

"I said _ no!" _ repeated the commander. That was the only thing said on the ride back to Garden.

Squall sat behind his desk with Rinoa's second gift sitting on it. He was seething with frustration and his head was buried in his hands.

"I wish you would let me pay for those. I would feel so much better about it, you know I can afford it," Laguna entreated one more time.

"Please be quiet," the young commander hissed. "Why are you still here anyway? What do you want?"

"I want to talk."

"About what?" Squall's voice was weary.

"Whatever you want."

"Alright, tell me about Raine."

"Okay," the older man murmured.

Squall looked up in surprise as Laguna began speaking in a low tone. "I loved her at first sight. When I finally regained consciousness lying in her bed, bandaged and bloodied, and saw her leaning down over me with that total look of concern on her beautiful face, I thought I'd died and was looking at an angel. The love I felt for Julia was only a miniscule of the love I felt for your mother. I was infatuated with Julia; I _ loved _ Raine. But why would that surprise people? She changed my entire life, everything about me. I never reenlisted in the army; I stopped any plans of ever traveling again. I only left Winhill because Ellone was taken away and I just _ had _ to find her or die trying. I know what people say about me, that I'm a bad person to never have gone back to look for you. They don't understand. I was completely devastated when Raine died; I was in total pain...for years and years. I wanted to die, if it hadn't been for Kiros and Ward I would have died. They took care of me. They told me everything to do, when to get up, when to eat, when to go to bed. I just _ couldn't _ bear to go back to Winhill...ever! It still hurts to this very day. Ellone was missing, but I always knew where you were. I knew the Kramers would take care of you. I used to do what I could. I'd sent them money anonymously for all of you, but I wrote that I particularly wanted you to get something nice out of it. I never forgot you and I always knew what you were doing. I would have done anything to help you if I had thought you needed it."

Squall flushed, suddenly remembering those strange wonderful Solstice gifts that would just mysteriously appear on his bed on Solstice mornings. He stood and stepped around his desk to where Laguna was sitting. Squall placed his hand on the older man's shoulder. For a moment it appeared that he was going to say something to his father, then quietly strode from the office.

Somewhere, somebody or something smiled...just a little. _ That's a start _ hung in the air.

~*~

Zell paced relentlessly in his small dorm room, back and forth...over and over. _ I've really done it this time! How could I have been so careless? Where is that Hyne damned money? I had it with me at the store. I get back here, I don't have it. I've looked everywhere for it over and over. I've retraced every step. I even checked in my grandfather's uniform pockets! What was I thinking? That he took my Winter Festival money with him to the North Cave? _

Zell suddenly sat on the edge of his bed and glanced around his mostly disheveled room. _ What am I going to do to get this much money? Dear Hyne, tell me please. _ His eyes fell on the almost full bottle of pain medication he was given by the doctor the time he had badly wrenched his knee.

_ No!!! _ Something screamed out.

It was totally unheard by the desolate young man, who suddenly realized he was at the end of his rope.

~*~

"Are you sure I should be in your room?" Irvine asked nervously.

"Well, where else do you think we should do this? In the Quad?" Rinoa answered with a snicker.

"No, I don't think that would be a very good idea," the young cowboy replied. "It might cause talk."

"I _ guess _ so. But what are you so afraid of - Squall finding out or Selphie?" Rinoa giggled.

"You probably won't believe this, but it's Selphie. Squall would just kill me. Selphie would torture me first."

Rinoa laughed. "Hey! Not so rough."

"Oh, sorry. Guess I don't know my own strength, but what do you need?" Irvine inquired.

"Touch right there," the dark-haired woman ordered. "Ok, that's good. Now, hang on, I'm going to move."

"Oh, yes! That's great! You're so good at this!"

"Hey! I've had a lot of practice," Rinoa said, grinning.

And so it went all afternoon in the bedroom of the young sorceress of Balamb Garden.

~*~

Matt sat in a back corner of the coffee shop. He was nursing a hot chocolate and his bruised ego; what was left of it. _ I don't understand. What does she want from me? I don't feel as though I know ** her ** anymore. Maybe she just doesn't care about me and doesn't know how to tell me. _

That thought rolled around unwanted in his mind for a few minutes. _ You know it's funny when I think about it, but I haven't been real happy with her either. I'm gonna have to make my mind real soon, one way or the other, _ Matt thought pulling out the ring box from Balamb Jewelry Consortium. He flipped it open and stared at the large ring inside, still totally undecided.

~*~

Andrea sat on the bed in her dorm room with a cardboard shoebox sitting next to her. Rinoa had lent it to her upon her request. It had been filled to the top with photographs when the dark-haired young woman had first removed the shoebox lid. Now most of them were lying all over her bed and on her lap.

She had first seen them one evening when she had been hanging out with Rinoa in the young sorceress' room. When Andrea had first viewed them, she had felt herself strangely drawn to them. The young woman felt as though there was something hauntingly familiar about them.

Of course there was her physical similarity with Rinoa. Anybody could see that. And then there were their names - Kettleway and Caraway. Of course Rinoa used her mother's surname, but her legal name was still Caraway. Andrea had such a sense of disquietude when she looked at some of these pictures, like something was missing. Andrea wished she could speak with the young sorceress about this, but she knew Rinoa was in her room with Irvine.

_ And what is ** that ** all about? _ Andrea thought. _ Oh well, it isn't any of my business. _

_ Awww, _ she thought. _ Isn't that sweet? _ Andrea had picked up a photograph from the bottom of the shoebox of Rinoa as a newborn infant dressed in one of those long nightgowns and sitting posed in her mother's lap.

_ Whew, Julia really was a beauty. Hey, look at this. One half of this picture has been torn off. I wonder why? _

~*~

"What's that, ya know?" Raijin demanded.

"PACKAGE."

"Duh, I can see that. Who's it for, you know?"

"SEIFER."

"What is it - a Solstice present?" Raijin guffawed wildly at his witticism.

"YES."

"Yes!" Raijin exclaimed, unable to believe his own ears. "Where's mine, ya know?"

"OW! Why'd you do that?" Raijin complained at Fujin's sudden kick of his shins.

Fujin grinned maliciously at him. "PRESENT."

"Very funny, ya know," Raijin retorted. "What'd you get him?"

"WAIT," Fujin advised.

"Oh, all right," Raijin whined.

~*~

"I'm sorry, that book is still checked out," the pretty pig-tailed girl explained from behind the librarian's counter. "If you want, when it comes in, I could drop you a note in your mailbox."

"Yes," replied the conceited SeeD. "That would be most satisfactory. Thank you very much for your concern." He slightly bowed before leaving. Nicole was surprised he hadn't clicked his heels.

Sylvia, another of the library workers, stepped closely to Nicole and said, "It would seem he still fancies you. You still got it, kid."

Her effort to make a joke apparently fell on deaf ears as Nicole sighed and then explained, "I'm going on my break now."

Sylvia watched as her dark-haired work associate and friend lethargically shuffled out of the library. She was extremely concerned over Nicole. She had seemed so down lately and wouldn't talk to anyone about it. Everybody knew her boyfriend had gone completely crazy and had nothing more to do with her.

_ I just wish there was something I could do to help her, _ Sylvia thought hopelessly.

~*~

"What's up here, people?" Seifer asked returning to the bottom floor of the MD level.

"NOTHING," Fujin answered.

"Fujin got you a present, Seifer! OW! What'd you did that for, ya know?"

"You two never change," their blond leader said with a laugh. "So where is this present?"

"TREE!"

"It's under the Solstice tree, Seifer. Fujin got it, ya know," the large man translated.

"A tree too! You two slay me! Ok, listen up, this is our next prank," Seifer said.

And so it went on the MD level through the evening.

~*~

Later in the evening Selphie came a-calling on her closest female friend.

"Come in," Quistis called out from inside her room.

Selphie bounded into the dorm room in her usual exuberant manner belying the sadness and depression she was really experiencing concerning her apparent loss of Irvine.

"Boy, have I got a surprise for you!" the green-eyed woman declared.

Quistis was seated at her small desk working on next week's lesson plans. She set down her pen and turned to face her friend. "What is it?"

"Guess who won the Winter Queen contest?" Selphie responded.

Quistis sighed. She felt too tired to play Selphie's verbal games. "Just tell me," the blonde woman requested.

"No, guess!"

"One of the cafeteria ladies," Quistis replied sarcastically realizing Selphie wasn't going to tell her until she ventured an opinion.

"No, silly. You did," the brown-haired woman proudly announced.

Quistis' mouth dropped agape. _ Oh Hyne! How did this happen? _

Selphie laughed to see her usual cool calm friend nonplussed for the moment. "And you know what this means, don't you?"

Quistis silently shook her head.

"It means," Selphie continued excitedly, "at tomorrow afternoon's underclassmen Solstice party, you get to choose who you want to be your King. You and your King will be crowned at the Ball right before the Pollyanna gifts are given out. Isn't that just so exciting?"

_ Oh Shiva! What am I going to do now? _ Quistis wondered.

A/N: Just for your information, calling us names and demanding our story be a certain way is not the way to get what you want. If you've liked it so far, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Wait and see what happens before making a bigger fool of yourself. 


	22. Friday, December the Twentysecond The Qu...

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 22

Friday, December the Twenty-second

The Quickening

It was early morning on December Twenty-second – Solstice Eve Day. Squall was cursing his luck to be the one who was responsible for conducting a full inspection of the Garden. The duty rotated on an every third day basis between he, Cid, and Xu. And today was his day, the second worst day of the year. In Squall's opinion the worst day was Solstice Day, but at least that had the grace to be a holiday and he could remain in his room the entire day.

It all began at the 0700 inspection of all students. Contrary to customary behavior, many of them were giggly and appeared agog with the veritable winter wonderland that Rinoa had created within Garden. He particularly blamed her for the cadets' inappropriate behavior.

"Silence!" Squall barked. "Or be placed on report immediately."

The room fell quiet.

"Alright, roll call!"

After all the students had being accounted for, Squall commanded, "Dismissed, but remember – the holiday doesn't begin until 1800 hours. This is a regular day. Treat it as such – understand?"

There were a few half-hearted "Yes sirs," and one of the more bold upperclassmen wished the commander a "Happy Solstice!" 

"Whatever," replied Squall with a scowl.

Everywhere that Squall traveled to inspect in the Garden on that morning someone wished him season's greetings. By the time lunchtime approached, the ill-tempered young man was literally brimming over with frustration and irritation.

It wasn't until Squall decided to stop at the cafeteria for a quick cup of coffee that the entire situation culminated in a nasty scene. Stepping up to the beverage counter, Squall espied his friends sitting with Ellone near the back of the cafeteria. Pointedly ignoring them as they were waving and calling out to him, he did not want to be bothered with making small talk with anyone right then.

_I wish they_'_d snap it up with my coffee_, he thought.

Ellone broke away from the group and approached the young commander.

"Squall," the young woman kindly entreated. "Come spend some time with us. We're celebrating with a traditional Solstice Eve breakfast of Shumisbury steak, salmon patties, and sauerkraut."

"Please, Elle," Squall answered in an attempt to be civil. "I'm far too busy with my duties for such socializing."

"Squall, this is me," Ellone said placing her hand lightly on his arm. "Surely you can spare a few minutes for your friends and family?"

Squall flipped her hand off his arm. "Family? What family? You think the little that you and Laguna have been involved in my life qualifies you as my family?"

Ellone stood stunned for several moments before tears began to form in her eyes and rolled down her face. Striving to hide his sudden pangs of guilt from both himself and Ellone, he became even more furious.

"Why are you here anyway? Why don't you go home to Esthar where you belong?"

With that parting shot, Squall turned on his heel, and stalked from the cafeteria silently cursing himself for having forgotten his coffee. All conversation in the cafeteria had fallen away as Squall's voice had risen so his entire interaction with Ellone was heard perfectly by everyone in the room.

Selphie and Quistis, who sought to comfort her, quickly surrounded Ellone.

"Don't cry, Sis." Selphie offered her a hug. "He didn't mean it."

"Yes, he did," Quistis contradicted. "He's acting like a bastard."

"No, Quisty," Ellone explained while wiping away her tears from her face. "He's frightened and feeling terribly alone. I have a plan and I'm going to help him. By the way, has anybody seen Rinoa? I need to talk to her."

"I think she said something about needing to see the doctor," Selphie answered.

"Hmmm…" Quistis appeared greatly worried.

~*~

It had been quite a few minutes since her last class had let out and Quistis still sat behind her desk lost in thought. Selphie was waiting for her in the Quad, which made the instructor even less desirous of moving.

_What am I going to do_? _I wish I_'_d never won this damn Winter Queen thing_. _I know Matt expects me to pick him as King and it will really hurt him if I don_'_t_. _But what about my feelings_? _Shouldn_'_t that count for something too_?

The young blonde woman decided to leave it to fate. If she went searching and discovered _him_, then Quistis would know for certain that she was doing the right thing.

Pulling open one of the drawers in her desk she extracted a small wrapped Solstice gift. Striding purposely from her classroom Quistis walked down to the far end of the corridor away from the elevators. Glancing and discovering herself to still be the only person in the hallway, Quistis pushed against the wall in the spot she remembered would lead her to the hidden passageway.

Quistis was in luck. She only had reached the second level down when she met Seifer advancing in her direction.

"Well, instructor," he greeted, "What are you doing? Slumming?" The expression on his face made it apparent he was still upset about their last encounter.

The young woman grimaced slightly. "Nice to see you again too, Seifer."

The former knight's face fell slightly and he flushed. "I'm sorry, that's wasn't very nice for a Solstice Eve I'll admit. How are you?" Seifer asked, seeking to remedy the awkward situation.

Sensing a slight opening in Seifer's usual cynical bitter attitude, Quistis blurted out, "I want you to come up to the afternoon festivities."

"Why?"

"Because I'm inviting you and it's a surprise," she said blushing slightly.

"I'm not sure what's going on this afternoon yet."

"Won't you please try and fit me into your busy schedule?" Quistis tried to smile coyly like Rinoa was able to do so well. Unfortunately, she managed to only feel awkward and tilted her face floor-ward so her long hair would hide her blush.

Seifer crossed his arms and leaned casually against the wall. "I'll think about it."

Sighing, Quistis said, "Fine." Then she thrust the present into Seifer's hands.

The ex knight stared at the package in his hand. "What's this?"

"It's a Solstice present, of course!"

"Oh," he could only think to say. He was greatly embarrassed because he had no present for Quistis. There was just no way Seifer would ever have imagined that Quistis would give him a Solstice gift.

"I've got to go," Seifer said. Without further explanation he rushed down the passageway. Confused and dissatisfied with the entire interaction, Quistis wondered whether her former student would show up as she requested or not. 

Seifer wended his way along to the first floor and then went out of a hidden door to the outside of the Garden. He stood on the outside of the front gates blinking in the bright afternoon sunlight. Even though the sun felt wonderfully warm on Seifer's body, the temperature hadn't risen high enough to melt any of the snow that still lay in patches on the countryside. Still feeling completely embarrassed he berated himself for not having anything to offer Quistis in return for her offering, and for handling his initial embarrassment so badly and appearing to cut and run.

_So I_'_m feeling embarrassed over being embarrassed_? _What the hell is going on with me_? _I_'_m acting like puberty boy_! Casting his memory back to his short summer relationship with Rinoa, Seifer realized he had never one time felt such as this. He had always been in total control. _And why wouldn't I be_? he thought. _That was easy_, _I didn_'_t love_-.

The former knight began walking quickly as if to escape his feelings. Something half buried in the mud glinted brightly from the afternoon sun and caught Seifer's attention. As he bent over to retrieve it, the young man was amazed to discover a beautiful crystal snowflake.

Observing the snowflake's loveliness while holding it cradled in his open palm, Seifer realized the God of Serendipity had just offered him a gift and he would be a complete fool to turn his back on it. Hurrying back to Garden he disappeared the same way he emerged.

His good fortune was continuing as not only was there wrapping paper still available, but Fujin volunteered to wrap the crystal snowflake for him. As she finished attaching the beautiful ribbon to the finished product, Seifer affixed the label bearing Quistis' name. Fujin never said a word, but she did arch her eyebrow at him. The former knight grinned slightly and finally ducked his head in embarrassment.

Seifer left right after that on his way to the student's Solstice Eve party being held in the Quad area. He had decided to wear no disguise other than some nondescript gray clothing and leave off his easily identifiable long military coat. As Fujin watched the best friend she had ever had leave the immediate area, she sincerely hoped it all worked out for him for once.

While Selphie called the gathering to some semblance of order, Seifer hid at the back of the crowd in the corner. Even the cynical Seifer had to admit Rinoa had done a tremendous job with the festive decorating of the Quad for the party. In fact, it was almost impossible to see what the area had originally been. The glare from all the holiday lights was practically blinding.

"Okay everybody!" Selphie called out. "I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of the Winter Festival Queen Contest is Quistis Trepe and she will now announce who she has chosen to be her King at the festivities this evening."

Selphie led the 'spontaneous' applause while Quistis arose to her feet. Glancing behind her briefly she offered a quick wave to Seifer. He winked in return.

As the young blonde woman turned to speak to the gathering, Matt suddenly leaped to his feet and exclaimed, "I claim the honor of being your majesty by right of this." He took out a small black jewelry box and dramatically brandished the ring he had purchased.

Sliding a huge cubic zirconium ring onto the astonished Quistis' finger, Matt declared, "Quistis and I are getting married!"

_What? _thought Seifer.

"What?" screeched Quistis, mirroring Seifer's thoughts. She looked wide-eyed and open mouthed at the sparkling ring on her finger.

_What sort of cruel joke is she playing on me_? Seifer thought as he mistook the expression on Quistis' face as one of utter joy. He slammed Quistis's gift to the floor at his feet just before he ran from the Quad.

"Oh Matt! How could you?" Quistis cried out in anguish watching as Seifer disappeared from view. She broke away and ran after him leaving Matt standing cliché-less for once in his life.

The crowd stood there silent and confused as both Matt and Selphie struggled to hold back tears. No one else had noticed Seifer's presence and so Quistis' behavior seemed irrational.

"Miss Selphie?" An eight-year-old female junior classman named Becky approached carrying something in her chubby fingers.

"Yes, dear?" Selphie questioned while casting worried eyes where Quistis had disappeared fleeing the Quad area.

"That man dropped this," the little girl explained and handed the young woman the holiday present.

"Thank you for turning it in," Selphie said glancing down at the gift. She did a double take when she read the label, _To Quistis from Seifer_.

_No way, _thought Selphie. The young SeeD almost tossed the gift in a nearby trashcan. She hated Seifer, and alive or dead he shouldn't be giving gifts to Quistis. But she also recognized it was really none of her business, and besides it might be something expensive.

Pocketing the gift, Selphie ran in the direction of the main hallway. Once there, she found Quistis hugging herself and staring listlessly at the wall. The blonde woman did not even seem to notice when she was approached by her friend.

"Quisty?"

No response.

Selphie touched her friend on the shoulder. "Quisty, this was found in the Quad."

"So?" Quistis glanced at the gift that Selphie was holding out to her. "If it's another one of Matt's _surprises _he can keep it."

"It's from Seifer."

With a puzzled expression, Quistis took the gift and carefully unwrapped it. When she flipped open the lid of the box, the blonde beauty emitted a soft gasp. Her eyes filled with tears as she held up the glimmering crystal snowflake. It captured the rays of the sun that had filtered through the high windows of the hallway and filled the corridor with fragments of color.

"Oh how beautiful!" exclaimed Selphie.

"Yes," agreed Quistis, clutching the exquisite gift to her heart.


	23. Friday, December the Twentysecond Progre...

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 23  
Friday, December the Twenty-Second  
Progression

Final Fantasy VIII characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft.

Andrea sat in one of the upholstered chairs in the clinic's waiting room barely listening as two other SeeDs attempted to convince Doctor Kadowaki that they were currently unfit for Solstice Eve duties. Neither one held out much hope. Although kindly, the doctor could be very astute and tough minded when it came to things such as that.

As she flipped through the 'One Hundred Most Beautiful People of the Year' issue of  Estharian People  magazine, she thought, _ I wish they'd get some more recent magazines in here. This thing is over two years old. Oh, gag me with a spoon! I can't believe they chose her. She has a mouth like a torn pocket. _ She grimaced.

Andrea was so engrossed in her 'reading' she never heard Rinoa enter from the examining room.

"What are you doing here? Are you sick?" asked Rinoa. Andrea noticed the young sorceress looked unnaturally pale.

Andrea quickly stood, laying the magazine back on a small table and spoke, "No, I'm fine, but how are you?"

"Oh, I'm okay," Rinoa replied distractedly and began to leave.

"Hey wait!" Andrea protested. "I need to talk with you."

"Well, come on," Rinoa murmured wanly. "Talk with me as we walk. I need to meet with my disciples."

The two, identical to the naked eye, young women walked side by side down the corridor from the infirmary to the main atrium of the Garden.

Andrea was clearly uncertain how to broach a subject that could possibly turn out to be very sensitive. Finally she decided just to be direct and asked, "Rinoa, have you noticed the physical similarity between us?"

"Of course I have." Rinoa laughed and then observing the haunted look crossing Andrea's ordinary pretty features asked, "What?"

Andrea paused and then said in a rush, "Well, what do you attribute that to - just sheer coincidence?"

"What?!" Rinoa asked with a great deal of surprise in her voice. "Of course not, didn't I already tell you all about this?"

When the young sorceress observed Andrea's facial expression of confusion, she exclaimed, "Oh Shiva! I didn't remember to tell you. I'm so sorry." Rinoa paused for a moment then proceeded to blurt out the entire story. "When I first met you I had a strong feeling there was a link between us and I called my father. Upon my questioning him, he admitted something to me that I had absolutely no knowledge of. My mother had an identical twin brother named Julian. Apparently he was a performer too; a magician I think my father said. I guess he finally married and then amazingly enough we were born on the same day. The families weren't able to remain in very close contact because of your father having to travel so much for his profession and I got the distinct feeling also that my father didn't approve of your father. Imagine that? _ That man _ not approving of a magician, there's a no-brainer. Then I guess your mother died around the same time mine did and that was it for knowing where you all got to. My father said he never heard anything more from your father, but I don't imagine he made any effort to locate him either."

"But I saw this picture of you when you were a newborn and it looked as if a corner of it had been torn purposely away."

"Oh, that," the young sorceress replied. "My mother's favorite cat was in the picture and he died a few days later and it made her so sad every time she saw it that she finally tore that part away."

"So that means we're -"

"That's right," Rinoa interrupted, breaking into song. "We're cousins, identical cousins all the way. One pair of matching bookends, different as night and day. Where I adore a minuet, the Galbadian ballet, and crepe suzette, you love to rock and roll, a hot dog makes you lose control - what a wild duet. Still, we're cousins, identical cousins and you'll find, we laugh alike, we walk alike, at times we even talk alike - a person could lose their mind, when cousins are two of a kind!"

"Well, thank you for finally explaining all that, Rinoa," her identical cousin said dryly.

~*~

As soon as Fujin observed Seifer tramp forcefully into their living space with an expression of fury upon his face, she realized that it hadn't gone well for him. In fact it looked as if it had gone as badly as possible. The silvered hair young woman was far too prudent to ever dream of asking Seifer what had happened, but she ached for him. Fujin had already literally gone to hell and back for him, but her loyalty was such that she would do it again without a second's hesitation. Because she would always remember...

_ "What's your name?!"_

A nine-year-old Seifer stood blocking her path. It was her first day in Garden and so far it hadn't been going well - no, not well at all. In fact it had been going terribly and now this large blond boy stood in front of her promising to make it worse.

She slowly glanced up and glared at him with her one good eye and waited for the ridicule that invariably followed.

"Fujin."

"I'm Seifer. You need anything around here you come to me. I'll take care of it. What happened to your eye?"

"Fight."

"Your family, right? Father, probably," guessed Seifer.

Fujin's one good eye widened in surprise and sudden respect for this little boy who seemed to instinctively realize so much.

"Yes."

"That kid behind you - is he with you?" the blond boy asked pointing to the chubby black child standing slightly behind her.

"Yes."

"I'm Raijin, ya know," the boy in question suddenly spoke.

Seifer threw his head back and laughed. "Raijin! All right, great name. Ok, you two stick with me and I'll show you around. Come on."

As the two newcomers began to walk beside the blond boy, he said, "Hey, that eye patch looks cool!"

"Thanks." Fujin smiled for the first time in a very long time.

Fujin returned to the present as Seifer strode over to the long table they used for their meetings. "Okay, gather around people," Seifer called out.

After Raijin and Fujin had joined him, Seifer exclaimed, "There will be no Solstice at Garden this year! We're going to steal it."

"Steal Solstice? How we doing that, ya know?"

Seifer laughed manically and then further explained, "We're stealing everything, all the Pollyanna gifts, all the food, as many decorations as we can. We'll take their good clothes. We can cut the power so that group - 'The Long Chocobo' - can't perform."

"Lone."

"What?"

"Fujin says it's 'Lone Chocobo,' ya know," Raijin explained.

"Long, lone, who's cares? I'll teach them _ all _ to trifle with the affections of Seifer Almasy!"

~*~

It was nearing late afternoon. Irvine and Rinoa were in her bedroom once again.

"Are you about ready?" she asked.

"Just about."

"Well, hurry up," Rinoa insisted, making some last minute adjustments.

"What's the hurry?"

"I'm suppose to meet Nicole and them in the chapel to lead a ritual to appease Seifer's ghost," the dark-haired woman answered while rolling her eyes at him.

"Will Selphie be there?"

"She might be, I'm not sure. Why?"

"I just thought we could take it there," Irvine explained.

"Ok, that's fine. At least it's on my way. Get the door, will you?"

Now moving along down the corridor, Irvine asked concerned, "Is this too heavy for you?"

"No, I'm fine." Rinoa adjusted the bulky item in her arm to rest more comfortably on her right hip.

"Because I could have gotten us a cart from the kitchen." Irvine looked at the petite woman in concern. He didn't like having a woman carrying something as he walked along empty handed.

"Heck, this is just made out of balsa, isn't it?" the young sorceress asked.

"No, it's plywood."

"Well, it's still light enough. I bet Selphie will be really surprised," said Rinoa.

"Yeah." Irvine laughed. "I bet she will be, but so will some other people."

"Why? What do you mean?" the young woman asked, giving Irvine a sideways glance.

_ Oh Hyne! I shouldn't have brought this up. She doesn't know about it. _ "Oh, never mind," Irvine equivocated. "It isn't important, anyway."

"No, I want to know. What are you talking about?" Rinoa said firmly.

"Well...uh," the longhaired man stammered, "Some people think we've been...you know, uh." He found himself blushing at the thought.

"What?!" she replied loudly causing Irvine to wince slightly.

"Rinoa! Watch out for that corner, you have to swing this wide," Irvine warned while also hoping to change the subject. "I'm glad we're almost at the chapel."

"Oh no, you don't," Rinoa protested. "I don't believe anybody would be as silly to believe anything like that of us."

"Well," the cowboy sounded doubtful. "You might be right. We're here," he said, pushing open the chapel door.

Rinoa instantly observed Nicole, Andrea, Quistis, and some of her disciples awaiting her arrival.

"Hi everyone," she called out cheerfully. "Put it over here, Irvine." She pointed to the last row of seats.

"Selphie isn't here?" Irvine noted mournfully.

"No," Nicole affirmed. "She said something about refusing to appease a ghost of someone who wasn't a ghost - whatever that meant."

"What in the world is that, Rinoa?" asked Andrea. "Is that papier mache?"

"Yeah," said Irvine. "You see, there's the Garden and the countryside all around it with the snow on the ground. And over there is the Winter Witch coming down. See? It looks like Selphie."

The young women gathered around the tableau that was sitting on the plywood. "My gosh," Nicole responded. "It does look like Selphie. That's a wonderful job, Irvine."

Irvine beamed. "No, it was Rinoa who did that. She's very talented. And she helped me make this plaque too."

Andrea picked up the plaque and read aloud, _ "To my beloved Selphie, Just a word of thanks for all the wonderful work you did to make this the best Winter Festival ever, Love Irvine. _ Oh, she's gonna love that. Wow! This must have taken you two a lot of time to make."

"Why yes," said Rinoa," it did. Most of the last two days."

"So that's what you two were doing," Andrea declared. "And we thought -."

"Just what did you think?" Rinoa asked in an angry tone, her eyes flashing.

"We thought, you know..." Nicole attempted to explain.

"I can't believe you all would have such little faith in me - to think that I would betray Squall and Selphie and my newfound faith. And during the Solstice season to boot!"

Irvine interrupted, "To be fair, Rinoa, we did bring some of this on ourselves."

The young woman's tone softened. "I guess you're right. I was hoping to make Selphie jealous a little and maybe bring her to her senses concerning Irvine, but I guess it backfired."

Quistis spoke for the first time. "I doubt Selphie noticed anything since she has been so busy with all the last minute preparations and I know no one would have told her. By the way, I heard you had to see the doctor today. Are you okay?"

Rinoa averted her gaze while answering, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. It was just a checkup, you know."

_ She's lying, _ Quistis thought. _ Something's wrong. _

"Shall we begin?" Nicole asked.

"I'm going to go look for Selphie," Irvine said, leaving as gracefully as possible.

Quistis quickly followed suit. "I have to go find Matt," she explained while following Irvine from the chapel.

"What do we do first?" Andrea asked. 

Nicole picked up a box and began putting violet candles in the sconces on the walls. "Well, we need to set up first," she said. "Rinoa, would you please start handing out the scripts?" She directed the young sorceress to a stack of papers on the altar.

Rinoa crossed her arms and sighed. "Uh… Nicole?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think this is really such a good idea? I mean, what if Seifer's not really dead?"

Nicole turned about and stared at Rinoa in disbelief. "I thought you believed in Mystic Hyneism. Were you faking it?" Rinoa's disciples in the second row of pews began muttering among themselves.

"No! Of course not!" Rinoa exclaimed shaking her head. "It's just that… well… Seifer might be alive."

Nicole rubbed her face wearily. "The idea that Seifer could be living within Garden is just preposterous," snipped the librarian. "Seifer is dead. Dead, you hear? I saw his ghost. End of story."

Not wanting to argue the matter further, Rinoa nodded. "Okay, Nicole." She quickly handed out the photocopied ritual to all the attendees. The sorceress was just slipping on the black ritual robes that Nicole had provided when the door of the chapel burst open. Irvine entered dragging a red-faced Selphie by the arm.

"Let go of me, you philandering pig!" Selphie protested. Her eyes fell upon Rinoa and widened. "What's _ she _ doing here?"

"Please Sefie," murmured Irvine, "just calm down."

Selphie managed to jerk her arm out of the cowboy's grasp. "Don't you tell me to calm down!"

Seeing that Selphie was not being cooperative, Rinoa approached and wordlessly pushed Selphie to where her gift lay in wait. "Look there, Selph," ordered Rinoa, pointing at the tableau.

Obeying, the bouncy young SeeD's facial expression transformed many times before she burst into tears. "Oh Hyne! It's so beautiful! Is that what you guys have been doing?"

"Yeah," muttered Irvine.

Putting her hands to her cheeks, Selphie said, "I thought you two were… were…"

The young sorceress stomped her foot and growled deep in her throat. "Why would I do that to you, Selphie, you are my friend! Why does everyone seem to think I am such a slut?"

"Um, well… er…" Selphie didn't know what to say.

Hey, guys," interrupted Nicole, "Do you think we could talk about this later? The ritual needs to be underway before sunset, you know."

Selphie gently touched the plaque. "I think I'm gonna skip this…"

"No way!" said Nicole, "we need four people to do this like we discussed before. You, me, Andrea and Rinoa are the only ones who are familiar with this ritual." She shoved a black silk robe similar to the one Rinoa had donned into Selphie's grasp.

Selphie glared at the librarian. "But Seifer's not-"

"Oh yes he is!" interrupted Nicole. "He's dead, he's dead. He's Dead!" she shrieked jumping up and down. Her hair came free from its pigtail and flew around her head wildly.

"Okay, okay!" Selphie agreed, her voice quavering. _ Has everyone around here gone insane? _

Irvine hurriedly picked up Selphie's gift and edged toward the door. "I'm no Hyneist," he explained, "so it wouldn't be right for me to… um… I'll meet you later at your room okay Sefie?"

"Sure," agreed Selphie, slipping on the ritual robe. "Oh, Nicky, I don't think Quisty is coming… she and Matt were arguing last I saw."

Nicole only shrugged in response.

A short while later the ritual was finally underway. Only the flickering candles and the last rays of the setting sun weaving in through the stained glass windows lit the peaceful chapel. The four young women stood before their tiny congregation leading a relaxation exercise. 

Rinoa took in a deep breath, the scent of wax and incense filling her head and calming her senses. She did not like the idea of performing this rite for a living person, but she felt she had no choice. When she decided it was time to begin she read, "As the sun sets, so our friend has left us. The water of our tears like the salt water of the sea blesses this place."

"As life is a day," continued Nicole, "So our friend has passed into the night. The fire of our life, the memories and courage, the strength given to us by our friend blesses this place."

Andrea then read her part. "As all that falls shall rise again so our friend will be reborn.

The air we breathe, this treasure of our life, the compassionate caring we give each other blesses this place."

"As the Earth forms us so our friend shall return to the earth," Selphie intoned with a distinct hint of irony. "All that makes us what we are blesses this place." _ Friend? Sweet Shiva! This is such crappola! _

Rinoa stepped forward. "This is a place which is not a place, in a time which is not a time, halfway between the world of the great Hyne and of mortals." Rinoa thought for an instant she saw a shimmering out of the corner of her eye and she blinked hard several times in an attempt to clear it away. _ What did Nicole put in that incense? _ she wondered, _ Gysahl greens? _

The congregation answered: "Blessed Hyne, be with us."

Nicole stepped up next to Rinoa. "We welcome the restless spirit of Seifer Almasy into the sacred chamber. Come, oh brother, and allow us to guide you into the loving arms of Hyne. Be cleansed and be free."

All the attendees began to chant, "Be cleansed and be free," as Nicole lit a white candle. The four "priestesses" each wrapped a right hand around the candle.

"You are…" -Rinoa swallowed hard- "dead. None should ever die alone. I am here to help you with your death." The shimmering was becoming more intense and swirled with a myriad of pastel colors. She watched it in fascination. _ Oooohhh… the colors…_

It was Selphie's turn to speak. The words caught in her throat and were only released when Nicole gave her a swift kick to the shin. "Ow!" she complained, grimacing. "That hurt!"

"Read your damn line!" murmured Nicole through clenched teeth.

Selphie glared at the librarian. "Fine!" She rolled her eyes. "There is only love, the greatest Mystery. I reach behind my fear. I open my heart and my eyes in the light of this love." The young woman's voice was entirely emotionless. _ I can't wait to give Irvy his solstice gift! Won't he be surprised! _

Andrea took her cue, trying to ignore the tension in the room. "You have left your family. You have left sex and even gender. You cannot be a woman or a man and enter the other world. You have left behind your body. None who have bodies can pass into the other world."

"There is only love. The love of the Hyne gave birth to this planet," spoke Nicole with deep reverence. "The love of our parents gave birth to us. The love of our friends and family sustains our life. Kindness, love and pleasure - we are formed from these and we form each other. When we die we leave them behind us."

Rinoa blinked slowly and watched as the shimmering congealed. Two distinct figures appeared to be forming right before her eyes. _ I'm so stoned, _ she thought.

After a few more moments of chanting, "Be cleansed and be free" the four ritual leaders spoke in unison. "Journey on now, brother. We will follow when we can. May you be born again at the same time and in the same place as those you knew and loved in this life. May you know them again and love them again."

The ritual was concluded with the singing of a hymn, though Rinoa could barely raise her voice above a whisper. Her attention was entirely focused on the hazy entities standing before her. _ Wow, this is some good stuff! I must remember to ask Nicole to hook me up with her supplier! _

As soon as the ritual ended, Selphie squeaked, "Byeeee!! I have to go give my Irvy his Solstice present!" She was gone before anyone could utter another sound.

(A/N: The song Rinoa sings in the first scene is a slightly altered version of the theme song from "The Patty Duke Show". Most of the dialogue of the ritual comes from a funeral rite written by Samuel Wagar.) 


	24. Friday, Squall's Solstice Carol

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Twenty-four

Friday, December the Twenty-second

Squall's Solstice Carol

Ellone knocked gently upon the commander's office door and didn't know if she should be disappointed or relieved when there was no answer. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she was surprised to observe Squall sound asleep with his head resting on his arms stretched out on the desk before him.

_He looks so sweet when he_'_s asleep_, _just as he did when he was a little boy_, Ellone thought as she moved behind him to gently ruffle his hair. _I guess he_'_s worn himself out with being so ornery_. _Well_, _it'll be easier this way_.

The young woman took a seat on the desk next to Squall's head and cast her consciousness into his mind.  Squall realized he was standing in what looked to be a common room of a bar or restaurant of some sort. Glancing around in surprise, he was even more amazed to espy Ellone.

"Elle? What's going on?"

Ellone's voice sounded eerie when she spoke. "I am the Spirit of Solstice Past – your past."

Squall's expression initially reflected befuddlement but was quickly replaced by his more recent one of cynicism. "Oh, I get it, whatever," he said.

"No, you don't _get it_! You don't get anything," the Spirit spat angrily. "Take a look around before you make such fast judgments."

"Okay," the young man retorted glancing around the room. "We're in some bar. Big deal!"

"Whose bar, mortal? You have been here before."

"Look, Ellone, you're starting to irritate me with this crap," Squall complained. "Why don't-."

Suddenly a frigid strong wind blew through the room with the force of a gale force interrupting the commander's tirade. It blew him backwards causing him to lose his balance and fall backward. "Ow!" Squall complained about his now bruised derriere. 

"There!" exclaimed the Spirit, "Let that be a lesson not to piss me off! Now where are we?"

Not having a clue at this point what Ellone's true intent was, Squall decided to play along. "Well, it actually looks familiar to me somehow, but I couldn't tell you for sure."

A tiny girl in a blue dress came stumbling in the room from a stairway that led to the upper floor. "Elle gonna put the star on top of the tree, right Raine?"

"Yes, Ellone," said Raine in a tired voice from behind a tall stack of Solstice decoration boxes in her arms. "But you have to be patient, Laguna hasn't gotten back with the tree yet." Squall's eyes widened when he saw her. This was the first time he had seen a vision of Raine since learning she was his mother.

Squall took a step toward her. "Mom?" he said, but she walked right through him.

The Spirit put her hand on Squall's shoulder. "They are only shadows of the past Squall, they can neither hear nor see you."

Ellone bounced on her toes. "Oooohh how soon?"

"Any minute now." Raine was just organizing the boxes when a timer went off in the kitchen. "Oh the cookies!" The pretty young mother ran to the kitchen just as Laguna burst in the door with a flurry of snowflakes.

"Lagooonaaa!" The tiny girl screeched and bounded up for a hug. Then she went to examine the snow-covered tree leaving a puddle of icy water in the entranceway. Ellone began to jump into the puddles splashing slush about and soaking her teddy bear slippers.

"Ellone! Stop that!" admonished Raine, emerging from the kitchen and drying her hands on a dishtowel. "Laguna! You can't bring that thing in here!" She pointedly sternly to the door. "Out!"

"But Raine, I thought-," Laguna started to say.

His wife cut him off. "You thought what? That the rules would change just because I married you?" When she saw Laguna flush and look away she said, "Well you thought wrong, mister!" She jabbed him in the chest and slunk up to him, managing to look sexy in an oversized sweater and jeans. Ellone began splattering around the slushy water again and Raine looked down at her with her hands on her hips.

"Ellone," she said in a deadly calm voice. The little girl stopped in mid stomp and slowly turned her face up slowly to look her adoptive mother in the face. "Didn't I tell you to stop that?" 

Ellone nodded slowly. 

"Okay, then I want you to go upstairs, change your slippers and sit on the sofa until I call you to dinner!" Ellone ran for her life up the stairs.

Raine turned back to Laguna, smiling mischievously. Seeing that he was still pouting, she touched her lips softly to his cheek. "Oh don't pout, Laguna," she said in a half-whisper directly next to his ear, "Aren't the rewards worth the sacrifices you make for me?"

Laguna chuckled, a sound that almost sounded as if he were saying, "G-ya-ha-ha." Raine giggled in response and kissed Laguna roughly, twisting his long hair around her fingers.

Squall made a gagging sound. "Ew! Shiva! That's gross, Spirit! Make em stop!" He covered his eyes.

The Spirit sighed. "Oh Squall, stop being such a prude!" But without further complaint she flicked her wrist and it was a few hours later. Ellone and Laguna were clearing the table following dinner. Raine sat back in her chair and put a hand gently to her stomach. She sighed deeply and looked up at Laguna who had just set a plate of freshly baked cookies and a cup of coffee before her. 

Grabbing his arm, she asked, "Laguna… have you ever thought about children?"

He laughed. "Of course, I think of Ellone all the time!"

His wife shook her head. "No, I mean about having a child of our own."

Laguna paled. "As in you being…pregnant?"

"That's usually the way it works, Laguna."

Without warning Laguna jumped out of his seat and called to Ellone, "Hey Elle! Want to help your uncle Laguna with the tree lights?" He picked up a string of white lights and held them above his head. Ellone clapped and ran over. 

"The tree! The tree!" she sang, jumping up and down. 

Sighing deeply, Raine rose and joined her family in the decorating of the solstice tree.

"Oh Hyne," murmured Squall, "she's not-um…"

Yes, she is," said the Spirit, "with you."

Squall didn't know what to say. He watched the happy family fade into the darkness. Just before the entire scene was gone, Squall reached out and pocketed one of Raine's cookies.

"You were a brat, you know," mentioned Squall as a new scene began to materialize around them.

"I was not, I was cute!" retorted the Spirit.

"Whatever."

"Anyway," snipped the Spirit, "Just so you know, by the time Laguna found out about you, he felt it was too late to interfere in your life."

Squall snorted. "That's such crap! He was just too scared!"

"That may well be, Squall," she told him, "but how are you any less frightened by your relationship with Rinoa?"

"I'm not scared!"

"Yeah, well, anyway…" the Spirit directed Squalls attention to their surroundings in order to change the subject. "Do you recognize this place?"

"It's just a student dorm room," he said looking around at old rock group posters from the previous decade. "Although, it does look familiar…"

"It should," said the Spirit impatiently, pointing to the far end of the room. The young man noticed a small figure rolling over in his sleep in the bed. Alarms went off in Squall's mind as he realized the sleeping boy was a younger version of himself.

"Yes," said the Spirit. "It's your room a few years ago."

Squall watched as the younger version of him woke up. _I must have been about twelve_, he thought.

The young Squall finished waking up by stretching and then he sat up and swung his feet around onto the floor. It was then that he first saw the beautifully wrapped Solstice present. The boy made a wild dive toward the gift and began to haphazardly rip off the gift-wrap.

_I remember this_, the commander thought. _I was so happy that day_.

"Oh boy! Oh boy!" the young Squall exclaimed jumping up and down in his excitement when his gift came into sight. "It's a gunblade! I wanted one so bad, how did anyone know. Where did it come from?"

"I've got to show this to everybody," the boy exclaimed throwing his pajamas off. "I've got to get dressed. When I get big I'm always gonna sleep in my clothes."

"Uh oh, sorry, I didn't foresee this," the Spirit murmured turning her head.

"Hey! Look at this, everybody," the young boy cried out now completely dressed and leaving his dorm room. Squall made a move to follow himself when the Spirit stopped him by placing her arm on his.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to see more. I want to see how everybody was, I was so happy that morning."

"You could be happy in your own time, if you so chose," the Spirit intoned as the room faded away.

Squall was still soundly sleeping in his large office. Ellone, presently standing behind him, was happy with the way the first occurrence had went, but now she was completely at a loss for what to do next. She realized the small amount that Squall had just experienced was not going to be near enough to change the course of his life.

Yes, she could show Squall the immediate present, but just that alone wouldn't do. Later he would probably be awake and Ellone had no power in the present and she absolutely couldn't send someone into the future.

An apparition suddenly appeared in the office in front of Ellone. As the figure became more distinct Ellone felt herself grow weak in surprise and just before fainting thought, _Julia_! _She can_'_t be real._

"Squall, wake up," Julia ordered.

Squall discovered himself standing next to a figure that looked identical to the pictures he had seen of Rinoa's mother and whom he had observed previously through Laguna's eyes. _This must be a dream_, he thought.

"No, it's real."

As the young commander looked at the figure beside him in surprise, she nodded and explained, "Yes, I can read your thoughts. You have no secrets from me."

"But you're dead. You're...you're..."

"I am the Spirit of Solstice Present and we are going to spend some time with your close friends. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The Spirit snapped her fingers and they were suddenly standing in the chapel watching Rinoa and the other young women participating in the ritual to help Seifer's ghost move on from the earthly plane.

"Oh no!" Squall protested, "Why are watching this crap?"

"Show some tolerance. You remember the concept of tolerance don't you? I just ask because lately you've been acting as though you've never heard of it."

The Spirit's rejoinder shamed Squall into silence as he had opened his mouth to retort. "Besides," the Spirit continued to speak, "you are her knight. If you thought she was behaving in a misdirected manner that's all the more reason you should be by her side."

"What would you have me do?" he cried out plaintively.

"That's for you to decide, isn't it?" the Spirit answered smugly. "Come, we have more to see and not much time."

As the two figures left the chapel Squall locked eyes with Rinoa and strangely felt as though she could actually see him for a minute. They next materialized in a back corner of the coffee shop where Ellone and most of his friends were sitting. He noticed immediately that only Zell and Rinoa were missing.

"Where's Squall? Why isn't he here?" Andrea wondered.

"Why _would_ you care?" Selphie asked.

"I was just in his office a little while ago. He was sound asleep and looked exhausted," Ellone explained.

"We don't need him," Selphie snapped.

"Sefie," murmured Irvine.

"No, I mean it," the ordinarily kind hearted young woman said turning to her boyfriend. "We don't need him. He's done nothing to help. He's only attempted to serve as a hindrance and he doesn't have one ounce of Solstice Spirit in his entire miserable body. And on top of that he has just about driven poor Rinoa around the bend."

The others present nodded or muttered their acceptance of that statement. Squall was shocked and somewhat saddened to observe that no one present, not even Ellone, spoke up in his behalf.

"By the way speaking of Rinoa, does anybody know where she is?" Quistis questioned.

"Yes, I do," Nicole admitted. "I saw her leave the Garden. She was dressed in her former outfit and was carrying a small suitcase."

The expression on Quistis's face turned to one of alarm.

"And you didn't try to stop her?!" Selphie accused.

"Of course I tried to stop her," Nicole replied indignantly. "But what could I do? She said she was going home to Deling City for a few days and that she'd be back by the end of next week."

"She's not coming back," Andrea declared in a dead voice.

Everyone turned to look at her. "I can't explain it. I _just_ know. If she were coming back, she wouldn't have left. Rinoa must have felt she had run out of chances with Squall."

"You know," Quistis said thoughtfully, "I did see her coming out of Squall's office a little while before coming down here. I was hoping that they had a talk and had gotten some things straightened out, but I bet she went in there and couldn't even wake him."

"Oh that's horrible!" Selphie looked as if she were going to cry.

"No, I'll tell you what's really horrible," Irvine offered. "His selfish behaviors damage himself most of all and he doesn't even realize it, even after all this time. That's why I won't say anything against him. Squall Leonhart is his own worse enemy and probably always will be until he finally dies a lonely bitter old man."

Squall felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of those words. "Take me back, Spirit. Take me back right now! I don't wish to hear anymore."

The Spirit of Solstice Present snapped her fingers and the two of them were immediately returned to the commander's office. Something about observing his body asleep before him made Squall feel woozy. He turned away and looked at the Spirit."

"If this is a dream, wake me up!" he cried out.

"Haha! This is no dream, Squall Leonhart, as much as you would like it to be. What you just witnessed really occurred."

"And you think this is funny? Wake me up! Wake me up right now! I've changed, I tell you. I don't want to see anymore."

"You have one more lesson coming, the most important one of all," the Spirit kindly explained while fading away leaving Squall to ponder what he had just learned.  

Once again back in his office, this time by himself, Squall observed that he was still sleeping at his desk and that Ellone was nowhere to be seen. Hearing a noise behind him, he turned his head and was quite startled to see someone completely cloaked in a dark robe. The garb was arranged in such a manner that nothing of the figure was visible to Squall except for one outstretched hand. There was such an aura of complete silence surrounding the spooky persona that the commander felt terrified.

"W-Who...are you?" he stammered although he was certain that he already knew.

"I am the Spirit of Solstice Yet to Come, the Solstice of the Future," the figure spoke in an unmistakable voice.

_It_'_s the mysterious voice_! Squall thought as adrenaline flooded his body.

"Are you the thing that's been taunting me?"

The cloaked figure answered naught but pointed the hand out in front of her. He and the mysterious phantom immediately melted into the main atrium of the Garden, but as Squall glanced around he was amazed that it was changed from the last time he had seen it a short while ago. The fountains were gone and had been replaced by many elegant statues.

He instinctively stepped closer and observed statues of Cid and Edea. Squall saw statues of apparent adult SeeDs who he realized had only been children when he supervised roll call that very morning. The young man then perceived statues of the 'heroes' who had defeated Sorceress Ultimecia. He stepped toward the stone figure of Rinoa and saw something that caused him to feel as though his blood had turned ice cold in his veins. A plaque at the base of her statue gave her death as two days after the solstice he had yet to celebrate that evening.

"This must be wrong!" Squall called out to the Spirit.

"That is not wrong," the Spirit spoke lowly in an eerie voice. "Rinoa attempted to tell you something that was of the utmost importance to the both of you, but you refused to wake up. She already felt you wouldn't listen and would desert her in her time of need so she fled her home at Garden to return to Deling to die at the hands of a butcher. She couldn't stand the shame and sought out a quack that couldn't stop her hemorrhaging and Rinoa quickly bled to death. You lost your future wife and son in one ill fated hour."

People who knew Squall wouldn't have believed the cry of raw anguish that escaped his lips. "Tell me one thing, is there still time to change this?"

When the Spirit of Solstice Future remained silent, Squall demanded, "Take me back, take me back right now."

Now the Spirit spoke, "You were given ample warning, mortal but you chose to not heed me. Now you must reap what you sowed."

The haunted young man heard the voices of his friends, but they sounded odd, blurred, and older. They walked right by him, but gave no indication that they saw him. Squall was shocked to observe how much they had aged. He could still tell it was they, but they were more solid if not exactly overweight. Squall noticed some random gray hairs; his friends were headed toward middle age.

_It must be at least twenty years later_, he realized.

"I don't care what you say," Selphie said. "I say good riddance. I bet he hasn't said more than five words to me in the last twenty years and four of them were bad."

"Now Sefie, show some charity," Irvine responded.

"Spirit, who are they talking about?" Squall asked. He swallowed at the lump that had formed in his throat.

"I'll show the same charity he showed Rinoa twenty years ago. I loved her, she was my friend. He might as well have plunged a knife into her himself!"

Quistis asked, "Where was Zell? I expected him to come, if for nothing else than an old times sake."

"He said he just couldn't break away from Trabia Garden right now," Irvine answered. "Too many responsibilities as Headmaster, and Ellone said she would have liked to come but she's been working closely with her new business and didn't want to leave it right now."

"Spirit, tell me! Who are they talking about?"

"Well, personally I would hope that people don't feel as though they have to travel halfway around the world just to attend a short service for someone who hasn't said a kind word to them in years and then finally had the decency to kill himself. I just wish he would have done it years ago," Selphie retorted.

"You know it's odd when you think about it," Irvine interrupted his wife's tirade. "It all started to unravel for Squall on that Solstice right after we defeated Ultimecia. If only someone could have reached him then, helped him to understand what was going to happen later down the road. But I guess that's hindsight and wishful thinking."

"Come on," Selphie suggested. "I want to get out of these formal clothes."

As the people he knew walked away from him, Squall heard Quistis mutter, "I guess it will be a little nicer around here from now on."

"For sure!" agreed Selphie.

"Talk to me Spirit!" Squall pleaded. "What's going on?"

When the figure remained silent, Squall glanced hysterically around the Garden. The hallways were decorated with pine garland and lights. Everything looked cheerful and relaxed. Groups of students and SeeDs were standing and talking. Many people were laughing; it didn't look as though any of them were in mourning.

Two young upperclassmen walked by talking. "Who's going to be the new Headmaster now that Headmaster Leonhart is dead?" a pretty young blonde asked.

"I think Mrs. Almasy will be," the dark-haired young man answered.

"Oh that's great!" the girl exclaimed. "I thought she should have been all along. Dare I now call her Headmistress Quistis?"

"Haha! I think I might stick with Headmaster Almasy if I were you."

Squall fell to his knees as if in pain. "Tell me," he beseeched the silent figure, "that this can still be changed. Our fates can't just be set, there must still be time. Tell me, please."

The Spirit reached up and lowered the cowl revealing the face of a pretty brown-haired woman. "Stand up, son," she said while helping Squall to regain his feet if not his composure.

He looked on shocked and speechless for a few seconds and finally stammered, "Y-You're...Raine."

"Yes, I am, but I would prefer you call me mother." She smiled at him.

"How is this possible? Why are you here?"

"I've always been near you, watching over you; but today is special. It's a crisis point in two people's lives. Ironically enough, they're both here in Garden, you being one of them. What shall you do, son?"

"Whatever it takes to not allow those things to happen," Squall answered with determination in his voice.

"And you won't forget what you learned here today?"

"No, of course not. Who could forget such awful things?"

"Good," Raine replied. She slipped her hand inside Squall's coat and placed it on his chest. "You shall always be in my heart as I hopefully will remain in yours. Goodbye son. I wish I could stay and we could talk, but it is not allowed. I have someone else who desperately requires my assistance. I love you."

Moments after she was gone Squall raised his head from his desk where he had been sleeping. He shook his head. _Good grief_! _Was that a dream_? _No_, _it was too real_. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the snowflake cookie he had pilfered from his mother's house. _I don_'_t know what it was_, _but it wasn_'_t a dream_.

The cookie smelled buttery and sweet. He took a nibble of it, savoring the flavor of the only cooking he'd ever tasted of his mother's. Then realizing he could reminisce later, Squall tucked the cookie into his desk, jumped up and ran out of his office into the corridor. The commander grabbed the first person who walked by, a young redheaded female SeeD named Jesse.

"Tell me!" he ordered grasping the young woman by the upper arms. "What's today?"

"Today sir?" she echoed looking at him strangely. "It's Solstice Eve."

"Oh thank Hyne, I'm not too late! Thank you and Merry Solstice!" Squall offered before running down the corridor.

_Well_, _I guess he_'_s finally flipped completely_, the young SeeD thought. _I knew it would happen_, _sooner or later_.


	25. Friday, Zell's Wonderful Life

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 25

Friday, December the Twenty-second

Zell's Wonderful Life

Zell sat exhausted on the side of his bed, unable to remember the last time he had been able to obtain a good nights sleep. In his hands he held a nearly full prescription bottle of pain medication.

_I_'_m worth far more dead than alive thanks to the life insurance policy Garden has taken out on every SeeD_. _In fact it will pay off everything I owe and still leave a little left over_. _I_'_m certain they could use the rest of it to help with some child who's an orphan_.

"Zell Dincht, report to the Quad area immediately," Selphie's voice blared over the intercom system, echoing obnoxiously throughout Garden. The young man recognized the impatience in her voice and realized she would not leave him in peace until she talked with him.

_She_'_ll wreck everything_. _I_'_d better go talk to her_, he resigned.

Zell's interaction with Selphie turned out to be short and not so sweet. Hardly sparing a second for a greeting, the Winter Festival chairperson launched into demanding to know when the Balamb Hotdog Emporium staff was scheduled to arrive and begin setting up for the festivities.

Zell's immediate response was to slump his shoulders, scratch the back of his head and turn bright red.

"Well?" Selphie asked, "Is this Quantum Dynamics of a Guardian Force or is it a simple question?

"Uh," the blond SeeD mumbled, "I've been in close contact with them and they should be on their way here right now." He looked everywhere but at Selphie.

"Do I need to call them, Zell?" She put her hands on her hips. "You don't seem to be very certain about what's going on. It surely won't be much of a party without anything to eat, you know?"

"No, you don't have to call them," Zell whined. "I've talked to them today and if it will make you any happier I will go and call them again just to recheck."

Selphie nodded her head. "Yes, that will make me feel a lot better about it. You know, I got a lot of things to make certain run smoothly at the same time. I don't mean to come down on you so, Zell."

"I know, Selphie." Zell shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant. "Don't worry about it."

When he turned and walked away he could feel Selphie's eyes boring into his back.

_Geesch_! _What does she want from me_? _I_'ve _gotta go kill myself as it is_. _Isn_'_t that enough for her_?

Selphie looked after him with an obviously concerned expression, prickles of fear racing up and down her spine. Realizing something was terribly wrong, she decided she would have to talk to Nicole again. Even Selphie recognized there were some things more important than punishing your boyfriend for a simple mistake, but of course that did not apply to herself.

~*~

After stopping to call the Hotdog caterers as he promised, Zell entered his dorm room and immediately observed an attractive female student who appeared vaguely familiar to him. The teenager had Zell's bottle of pain medication in her hands and apparently was in the process of taking an overdose, judging from the amount of pills she was about to toss into her mouth.

Zell raced across his room and knocked the vial out of her hands. Pills flew everywhere. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Zell shouted.

"Saving you." She looked at him with wide blue eyes and smiled gently.

"Saving me?! Saving me from what?" Before the young woman could reply, Zell realized that, even though she seemed familiar to him, he didn't know who she was. "Whose homeroom are you in?"

"I'm not in the anyone's homeroom. I'm an angel and I know all about you," she told him calmly.

Zell's eyes widened in amazement. Her story was blatantly ridiculous. _Oh Hyne_! _What have I got here_? _I don't have time for this_.

"Oh, is that so?" he asked. "Who are you then?"

"I'm Cloud, AS2," the girl said.

Zell shook his head. "What's an AS2?"

"Angel second class," Cloud replied.

Zell snorted in disbelief. "What was that you said a moment ago? Why did you think you were saving me?"

"That's why I'm here," the young woman explained. "I'm your Guardian Angel. Ridiculous to think of killing yourself for money."

Zell did a double take and looked at her in amazement. "How do you know about that?"

"I just told you." Cloud was growing as impatient as Zell. "I'm your Guardian Angel. I know everything about you."

Looking askance at the apparent young age of the person standing before him, Zell responded sardonically, "Well, you look like the kind of angel I'd get." He walked around her, eyeing Cloud up and down suspiciously. "If you're an angel, where are your wings?"

"I just told you, I have to earn my wings."

"I don't know if I liked being seen with an angel without any wings. Maybe you'd better go," Zell suggested in an attempt to encourage the obviously disturbed young woman to leave. All he wanted was to commit suicide in peace, and he was behind schedule as it was. Much worse, it would probably take him at least an hour to find all the pills that were scattered about the floor.

"I'm trying to earn my wings, and you're going to help me."

"Help you?!" Zell exclaimed. "How am I going to help you?"

"By allowing me to help you." Cloud put her hand on Zell's arm.

"The only way you can help me is to get me some money. You don't happen to have any, do you?" Zell asked sarcastically.

"Angels have no need of money." 

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. Well, it comes in pretty handy down here," the young man declared.

"Now, now." Cloud patted his arm.

Zell continued in a derisive tone. "I found out a little late that I'm worth more dead than alive."

"Now look," Cloud said forcefully, "you mustn't talk like that. I'll never get my wings with that attitude. You just don't realize everything that you've done. If it hadn't been for you -."

"Yeah, if hadn't been for me, everybody would be a whole lot better off - my girlfriend, my family, my friends," Zell interrupted. " Do me a big favor and go haunt somebody else."

"Look, I've got a job to do." The young woman tossed her sandy hair defiantly.

"Just shut up, would you?" the blond SeeD snapped at her.

"Hmm, this isn't going to be so easy. So you still say killing yourself would make everyone feel happier?"

"Oh, I guess you're right," Zell responded. "I suppose it would have been better if I had never been born at all."

"What did you just say?" Cloud's face took on a surprised expression.

"I said I wish I'd never been born," the young man repeated, much louder this time.

"Wait a minute, that's an idea!" Zell's self-appointed angel closed her eyes for a moment. "Ok, you've got what you wished!" she said with a smile as she looked up at Zell. "You've never been born."

"What's that you said?" Zell asked. He had been momentarily distracted by the fact that his knee had suddenly stopped hurting. It had been aching since he'd injured it on his last mission.

"You've never been born. You don't exist. You have no worries, no obligations." Cloud was grinning proudly.

Zell had no answer. He grabbed at his chest, disconcerted by the fact that the SeeD dog tags he always wore inside his shirt were also missing.

"Where are my dog tags?" he murmured. "I must have dropped them on my way to the Quad."

It was only then that he looked around and observed they were no longer standing in the Garden, but in the Balamb countryside instead.

"What are we doing here?!" he exclaimed. "Why did we leave the Garden?" He knew there had to be a logical explanation for this. There was just no way he was going to believe in angels, much less one such as Cloud.

"You wouldn't be in the Garden," the young woman answered. "You're no longer a SeeD. You've never been born."

"Aw, to heck with you," Zell muttered, walking away. "You make no sense. Let's just walk to town. I mean, I'll walk – you fly."

"I can't fly. I haven't gotten my wings yet."

On his way down the main street of Balamb Zell couldn't help but notice that the townspeople he greeted looked rather strangely at him when they passed. "What's wrong with them? They act as if they don't know me." 

"They don't know you," was Cloud's answer.

"Just stop with that craziness! Come on." He paused. "On second thought I want to go back to the Garden. I'm going to take you to the library to meet my girlfriend. Maybe she can help you since you seem so confused."

Cloud's next pronouncement stopped Zell dead in his tracks. "Your girlfriend's not there."

"What'd you mean? Of course, she is."

"No." The brown-haired girl elaborated, "Nicole was fired from the library for buying the entire Pupurun series for the library. Without you there to read any of it no one ever checked it out and she was demoted and transferred. After that she was assigned to bathroom duty and became known as the Toilet Girl and quit in disgrace."

"Where is she?" Zell demanded. "I need to talk to her."

"You're not gonna like it," said Cloud. "Without you there she will become a lonely spinster and have nothing to do with men."

"Please take me to her right now."

"Okay," the student acquiesced, "but you've been warned.

Cloud hurriedly led Zell into the hotel where Nicole was working as a maid. They stepped over the _Restroom Closed_ signs that were holding the door open. Zell discovered Nicole on her hands and knees in one of the stalls scrubbing out a commode with a toilet brush.

"Nicole!" he exclaimed loudly startling her. "What in the hell are you doing?"

The poor frightened young woman whirled around. Water splattered all over Zell and he was almost thwacked in the crotch with the toilet brush. He cringed in disgust and quickly reached for a few paper towels to wipe his face 

"I don't know you!" she cried out shrilly. "Get out of here, the bathroom is closed."

Nicole finally noticed Cloud standing behind Zell. "Take your boyfriend and go somewhere else," she told the 'angel'. "You're not supposed to be in here."

"My boyfriend?!" the young woman echoed.

_Her boyfriend_? Zell was greatly disturbed.

Zell grasped Nicole by the shoulders and pulled the young woman to her feet. "Nicole! What's going on? Why aren't you working in the library? Don't you know me? It's Zell, your boyfriend."

"Leave me alone!" she screamed. "I've never had a boyfriend and I don't know anyone with the crazy name of Zell."

Cloud began pulling Zell by the arm. "Zell! Zell, we have to get out of here. You're frightening her!"

"No, I'm not leaving, this is wrong."

Nicole gave out with a blood-curdling scream. This time it drew the attention of the hotel owner and several male guests who burst into the restroom. Not recognizing Zell, they paid absolutely no attention to his explanation. After checking if Nicole had been physically abused in any manner they frog marched him to the front door and threw him out into the street. They didn't even bother to tell him not to come back. That much was obvious.

Zell slowly arose from his knees. "What's going on around here? Has everyone gone off their nut? They act as if they don't know me."

"They don't know you. You've never been born."

"Wha?! Oh, you're crazy. Where's Rinoa?" Zell asked. "She's a sorceress, she can help me with this."

Cloud explained patiently, "Rinoa died because you were never there to tell Squall she was hanging by the side of the Garden during the Galbadian Garden attack."

"What?! Oh, that's not right. I saw Rinoa just this morning!" After a moments thought Zell mused, "Quistis could help me. I have to get to her."

"Quistis has been long dead. Without you there to save her in the D-District Prison she was raped and murdered."

"That's it!" Zell exploded, jumping up and down and screaming loudly. "I'm going to talk to my mom. She'll straighten this out for me."

On his way through the town, Zell glanced around and finally noticed something strange. He stopped in his tracks. "That's odd. Rinoa had everything that didn't move decorated with some sort of Solstice decoration and now there isn't even one decoration in sight."

"Rinoa never did that, because she's dead. She died, I told you, back when Galbadia Garden attacked."

"Now you stop saying that!" Zell exclaimed. "I'm not gonna tell you again. Now come on," he ordered stepping up to his parents' front door. "It's locked," he muttered. "I hope they're here." He began slapping his pockets for his house keys."

"You have no house keys." 

"Oh, that's right," Zell replied sarcastically. "I'm dead."

You're not dead, I keep telling you. You were never born."

Zell ignored the last comment and knocked on the door. He felt better when he realized someone had turned down the television in the living room. The door opened and a tall, dark-haired thin middle-aged man looked strangely at Zell. "Yes? May I help you?" 

"Uh, who are you?" Zell asked.

"Who did you wish to speak to?" the older man responded smoothly.

Zell became slightly frustrated with this word play. "I want to see my mother."

"Your mother? There are no mothers living here, particularly yours. What's wrong with you? Are you drunk or something? Too much Shumi beer – hmmm?"

"Me?!" exclaimed Zell. "It's you who must be drunk. My mother has lived in this house for all of my life."

"Zell! Zell!" Cloud attempted to get a word in edgewise.

The older gentleman said very formally, "Young man, I assure you I have lived here for the last twenty years and neither you nor your mother have ever lived here with me. Now, good bye."

"Zell," Cloud attempted again to gain his attention.

"Listen, mister, how'd you like a knuckle sandwich?" Zell clenched his fists.

"Haha!" the man roared. "A knuckle sandwich? Who writes your dialogue? Take my advice and go home and sleep it off." The door was promptly shut in Zell's face.

"Zell," the girl said again.

"What?!" he shouted in sheer frustration.

"I've been trying to tell you. Your mother has never lived here. She became so depressed over not being able to bear or adopt any children that she had to be institutionalized eleven years ago. Your father deserted her at that point."

"I'm gonna talk to Nick. He'll know where my mother is." Zell acted as if he hadn't heard one word that Cloud had spoken.

Striding down the street, he turned right on the main road of Balamb's shopping district. His longtime friend Nick was sitting outside on a bench as usual.

"Hey Nick," greeted Zell. "How are you?"

A not unattractive dark-haired young man replied, "Okay, but I don't know you. How do you know my name?"

"Of course you know me, I'm Zell."

"Nope, sorry. Zell doesn't ring a bell," his friend answered.

Right then the unmistakable sound of a Solstice tree falling over with some of the tree lights breaking came from within the shop. Pop! Pop! Cloud nudged Zell with her elbow. "Every time a Solstice light breaks an angel gets their wings."

Nick's face took on a hard expression. "Look, why don't you two just mosey along. We don't need any characters around here."

"Aw, Nick," Zell responded, "she's okay, just obsessed with angels."

"And that's another thing you haven't explained to me yet. How do you know my name? I've never seen you before in my life."

"Nick, I've lived here in Balamb with you for ten years."

"Balamb? This isn't Balamb anymore."

"Why, of course it is," Zell answered feeling as though he was in the middle of a horrible nightmare.

Nick stood up. "Now I know you're crazy. This is the city of Almasyville. I don't know anything about who you are or why you don't know this isn't Balamb. Maybe I better call the law."

"No, you don't have to do that," Cloud said while pulling Zell away.

As they walked away, Zell muttered, "I don't know what's wrong with Nick. I've never seen him act that way."

"You'll see a lot of strange things now that you've never been born," explained the girl.

"You keep saying that, but either I'm crazy or you are."

"Now, tut, tut. Where are you going now?" Cloud asked with some alarm in her voice.

Before Zell could respond, a very pregnant young woman wearing a slinky yellow dress and an elf cap on her head came bounding up to him. "Ho, ho, ho!" she belted out, tossing her bouncy brown hair and jingling the bells on her cap. "I'm the Holiday Ho!" From behind her garish makeup, she attempted to give Zell a sexy look of longing. "For five gil, I'll give you a Solstice gift you'll never forget!" She wiggled her hips and leaned forward to give Zell a full view of her cleavage.

"The hell?" Zell blurted out. "Selphie?"

"Hey? How do you know my name?" She looked up at him fearfully. "If you're a cop I had nothin' to do with the Galbadia Bank thing! It's all lies I tell ya!"

The horrified young man ignored her outburst. "What in Hyne's name are you doing? Irvine would never allow you to do this!"

"Oh! A friend of Irvine's, are you? Well, if you find that backstabbing two-timer you can tell him that half the money from that last job belongs to me and junior!" She patted her belly. "And forget that offer, I wouldn't service a friend of Irvine's for a million gil!" With that, she flounced away and used her "holiday ho" line on the next man she saw.

Zell turned to Cloud with wide eyes and quivering lips. When Cloud opened her mouth to offer an explanation for Selphie's odd behavior, Zell raised a hand to stop her. "I don't even wanna know," he said. "You'll find a way to make that my fault too!" Zell stormed away. 

"Hey!" Cloud called, rushing after him. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Garden, everybody's crazy here. Let's call a taxi."

"You have no money," Cloud informed him.

Zell began going through all of his pockets. "You're right, I don't understand this. I had money this morning; not much but some. Now it's gone. I don't suppose you have any?"

"No, angels don't have any -."

"I know, I know," Zell interrupted. "Angels don't have any need for money."

"Well we don't," the young woman retorted.

"We're going to have to walk. There's just no way around it." 

~*~

When Zell and Cloud approached the area where the Garden should have been, he was flabbergasted to discover it missing; although that wasn't the truly amazing part. In its stead stood a fortress identified by a sign on the front gates as _Fort Almasy. This despite the fact that just a little while earlier the Garden had been resting at that very spot._

"Where's the Garden?" Zell cried out completely bewildered.

"There is no Garden," Cloud answered flatly.

What are you talking about? Of course there's a Garden."

"No, when Rinoa was killed during the Galbadian Garden attack, Seifer's concept of right and wrong was forever destroyed by his own guilt. Plus, he had been the one to receive Edea's powers, and that drove him completely mad. After Time Compression had been foiled successfully, Seifer took over Galbadia and led them on a ruthless search to ferret out and kill every SeeD he could find. Every man, woman, and child that could be connected to Balamb Garden at the time was killed and the Garden was completely destroyed," the young woman declared with great emotion in her voice. "And the few who escaped… well, you saw what happened to Selphie…"

"But… but…" he stammered, raking his hand through his wild hair. "Squall! Squall would never allow this to happen!"

"Zell," said Cloud gently, "Squall never made it back from time compression. Without Rinoa's love to guide him back he became trapped forever. Selphie and Irvine were the only survivors, and they'd been so filled with remorse they turned to a life of crime."

Zell fell to his knees in complete despair with tears flowing easily down his face.

"You've been given a great gift, Zell," Cloud spoke. "The gift to see what the world would be like without you. Strange, isn't it? One man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around, it leaves an awful hole. You see Zell, you really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a shame it would be to throw it away?"

"Make me live, angel. I want to live again!" Zell sobbed.

"So be it," he heard a more mature female voice intone.

When he glanced up he was amazed that the pretty teenage girl had changed into a handsome woman. "Y – You're...Raine!" 

"Yes, I am and you're reborn."

Zell found himself standing in his bedroom. "Was that real?" But Raine was gone.

His knee was throbbing as though he had been doing a great deal of walking and he felt exhausted. Checking his pocket, he found his money and keys were back and reaching up he felt his dogtags hanging around his neck as usual. Trying desperately to come up with a plan to replace the missing money, Zell took one last glance around his room which he had torn into a shambles and never straightened.

He observed a stack of money sticking out from beneath his bed where Seifer had stashed it never thinking Zell would ever find it. Quickly flipping through it, Zell discovered it was more than enough money to cover the expensive bill from the Balamb Hotdog Emporium.

Happily he shoved the money in his pocket. "Thank you Raine or whoever!" Zell shouted out.


	26. Friday, Reconciliation

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter Twenty-six

Friday, December the Twenty-second

Reconciliation

Every time Squall crashed into someone during his run through Garden he hugged the person and belted out, "Merry Solstice! I have to find Rinoa!" Left behind in his wake were frightened stares and whispers of, "The commander has finally lost it!" "Did Rinoa hit him with confuse?" and "I wonder what this new alert system will be called?"

It was only through pure luck that Squall ran into Nicole, Quistis and Ellone outside of the cafeteria, for he certainly would have continued to run haphazardly around the building until he collapsed had he not."Sis!" he cried out sweeping Ellone into a hug so hard it made her eyes bug out. "I'm so glad you're here! Merry Solstice!" He repeated the performance for Nicole and Quistis.

"Uhh, are you feeling all right, Squall?" Quistis asked as he hugged her.

"Yes, I'm feeling wonderful!" He threw up his arms and began to twirl about. "It's Solstice! It's not too late!"

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Too late for what?"

"To change the future- Oh Hyne!" he burst out, "I have to find Rinoa!"

Nicole flushed. "Rinoa's gone, Squall, she left about a half hour ago."

Squall began gesturing wildly. "Yes… know this… not too late, can catch Rinoa. I… go… run now to Balamb!"

"Wait, Squall," said Quistis grabbing his arm. "Let me drive you, you'll never catch her if you run all the way to Balamb."

Squall nodded hard, his hair flopped around his head. "Yes… Quistis drive me."

The commander was completely silent on the way to Balamb, until they were within the town. It was then that he pulled out his wallet and withdrew a small clipping. Turning to Quistis he said, finally speaking normally again, "Quistis, I want you to drop me off at the train station and run to Balamb Jewelry and buy this… I have an account there. Just show your SeeD ID…"

Quistis agreed and briefly glanced down at the clipping. "Uh, Squall," she searched for the right words, "are you sure about this?" She pulled the car to a stop.

"I've never been so sure about anything in my life!" he said as he jumped out of the car. "Meet you back here as soon as you get it!" And then Squall was gone, lost in the crowd hurrying into the terminal.

Wind ruffled her hair as Rinoa waited patiently for her train to arrive. The scene before Squall seemed almost surreal as he stood a mere twenty feet away as he vacillated between plans on how to approach her. She looked so beautiful in her black coat, the fur collar framing her face giving her an ethereal softness.

For what seemed like forever the commander stood there just watching. He knew he did not deserve her, but he had realized he could not live without her. It was the announcement that the train bound for Deling city was boarding that kicked Squall into action.

Tucking the magazine she'd been reading into her bag, Rinoa stood. She screeched when Squall caught her off guard and swept her into a tight hug. 

"Don't go, Rinoa," he whispered.

She stared at him incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring you back to Garden."

She twisted out of his embrace, her chocolate eyes boring into him. "I don't think so." Picking up her tiny blue suitcase she began to walk toward the line boarding the train.

Squall grabbed her arm. "No! I will _not_ let you go!"

Trying to pull her arm from his grasp, Rinoa looked up into Squall's face and was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "Have you been… crying?" She brushed away one tear with her fingertip.

"I love you, I won't let you go. Not like this."

"But… there is something you don't know. I-I have to go." The sad woman looked away, closing her eyes tightly to hold back tears of her own.

Tightening his grip on her, Squall shook his head. "Whatever it is, Rinoa, we can work it out."

Rinoa glanced up at her boyfriend then looked away again. "I want to believe you, but…"

"Just one more chance, Rinoa. Please?" His voice sounded weak, desperate. "Please? Don't make me beg," he whispered. Then he pulled Rinoa closer to him and pressed his lips against hers. At first she did not respond and stood there statue-like. But the young beauty had more passion in her than stubbornness and she soon wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed her true love in return.

"So you'll come back with me?" The young man asked when the kiss broke.

Rinoa smiled coyly, though it was plain from the look in her eyes that she was not entirely convinced. "Um… you said something about begging?"

"You want me to beg?"

"Well…"

"Fine!" he said getting on his knees. "I'll beg!" It appeared that for the moment he had lost all of his self-consciousness, for the commander was obviously oblivious to the circle of spectators that had gathered around.

Flushing bright red, Rinoa beckoned for Squall to stand. "Will you get up? I was just kidding!"

"Well, I wasn't! Please forgive me Rinoa, please? I'm so sorry for acting like such a jackass. I'll do anything if you'll come back! I'll pay for those art lessons you want, I'll even go to counseling if you think we need it. But please, please come home! I know I'll never be able to live with myself if I let you get on that train!"

Rinoa gazed at her boyfriend with tears running down her face, her lips slightly parted. She tried to think of reasons to mistrust him, excuses not to go back, but she couldn't. Something deep down inside told Rinoa that he was being honest. They had much to work out, but deep down her heart told her it would somehow work.

The crowd was completely silent. Tension hung in the air so thick Rinoa could scarcely breath and she was sure that every onlooker could hear her heart pounding away in her chest. "Yes, I'll go back with you."

With a broad smile Squall jumped up and pulled Rinoa into his arms. They kissed as applause and cheers broke out around them, their tears intermingling as their lips met.

" I love you, Rinny, I love you so much," he said into her ear.

"I love you too, Squall! So very, very much!"

~*~

"Zell, are you alright?" Nicole's high-pitched voice came through the door. "Who are you yelling at?" She pounded hard on the door.

Opening the door with a swoosh, Zell scooped Nicole up in his arms. "You're not the Toilet Girl!" And he kissed her.

Laughing, Nicole said, "Toilet Girl? Zell, what on Hyne's green earth are you talking about?"

Zell blushed and set her down. "Uh… nothing… so, like, what's up?" Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he tried to appear casual. He was surprised to see the bracelet he'd given her for her birthday dangling from her wrist.

Seeing where his eyes were, Nicole smiled. "It's beautiful, Zell!" She fingered the tiny book of love charm and then opened it up and read aloud what he'd had engraved within. "Zell and Nicole forever…" She threw her arms around his neck and covered his face with tiny kitten-kisses. "I'm so sorry for acting so mean," she murmured between kisses.

"So does this mean you forgive me?"

"It's me who needs the forgiveness! I was just awful!"

Zell cuddled his girlfriend close. "Awww, Nicole, I love you… I can't stay mad."

"Oh!" The pigtailed girl reached into the pocket of her skirt. "I found this in the gift bag with my bracelet. Is this what you've been freaking out about?" She held out a wad of money.

"You should've said something, you know. We are your friends!"

Holding the gil notes in his hand, Zell wondered, _If this is my money… then what's this?_ He touched the gil in his pocket.

Seeing her boyfriend's expression, Nicole asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Um, yeah! Everything's fine!" He grinned. 

"Okay… so you're gonna start getting ready, right?"

Zell glanced at his watch. "Uh, Nicole, the ball doesn't start 'til eight!"

Nicole shook her head. "We are all supposed to meet in the Secret Area at five, Zell! Didn't Selphie tell you?"

"Uhhh…" the young man scratched his head, "she may have…"

"Oh you silly thing!" she kissed him soundly on the lips. "You get yourself dressed, and I'll call you when I am ready, okay?"

He smiled. "Okay."

After another kiss Nicole bounced out of the room.

~*~

Selphie stood back surveying the work she'd done on the Secret Area with Irvine's help. The Garden Festivals were important to her, but there was nothing quite as important to Selphie as throwing private parties for her close friends. It made her so happy to see the pleasure on their faces as they enjoyed her affairs.

"It looks great, Sefie," said Irvine sidling up to her and slipping his arm around her shoulders. Selphie beamed.

"It does, doesn't it?" She giggled in her usual manner. "Startha Mewart's got nothin' on me!" They both laughed.

Irvine looked thoughtful. "You know, something's bothering me…"

"What? Oh! Yeah, I thought there were too many lights, do you think there's time-,"

"The lights are perfect," Irvine interrupted. "There's something else."

"Not enough mistletoe?"

"The mistletoe is fine, what I'm trying to-,"

"Holly!" Selphie chirped, putting her hands to her cheeks. "I forgot the holly!"

Irvine groaned. "Hey, Selphie! Hello?" he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"What? Huh?" the bouncy perfectionist finally came back to reality.

"I need to talk to you about something really important," he said, leading her to a chair. Pulling up a seat next to her, he took her tiny hands in his. 

"What's wrong, Irvy?" 

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm worried about us."

"How so? Everything's okay now, isn't it?" The young woman looked at Irvine with a worried expression.

"I don't know…"

Selphie bounced up from her seat. "Who is she? I'll kick her a-,"

"Selphie! There is no one else!" Irvine pulled his girlfriend back down and drew her into a hug. "Calm down and hear me out, will you?"

When Selphie nodded Irvine continued. "This is exactly what I mean. You lose your temper so easily. Why don't you trust me?"

"Why do you think I don't trust you?"

Irvine looked away. "I know why, but still… It's not like I'm a male slut and mess with every girl that catches my eye."

The bouncy young woman snorted. "Irvy, you're a virgin!" She burst out laughing.

"Sh-h-h-h…" He waved his hands about and looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "Not so loud! Someone might hear you! I have a rep to protect!"

"Oh Hyne! Everyone knows you're a virgin!"

"They do?"

"Uh-huh."

"Man… that sucks." He sighed heavily. "Anyways, why do you think I am still… you know…"

"Because you keep making a fool of yourself?"

_How embarrassing, _Irvine thought to himself. "Maybe that was the reason before I met you," he admitted, "but-," he stopped speaking suddenly and looked at the floor.

"But?" Selphie asked with a wide smile. "What's your reason now?"

Irvine mumbled something in response.

"What?" I can't hear you?" Selphie leaned her ear closer to her boyfriend.

"I said," he whispered, "because I'm saving myself."

Selphie giggled, putting her fingertips to her lips. "What are you saving yourself for? Marriage?"

Irvine shuddered and began to cough. "Marriage? Hyne, no! I'm only eighteen!" 

"Well, then what ARE you saving yourself for?"

"For you, Sefie. I'm completely in love with you."

With a wide grin she said, "I love you, too, Irvy." Then she remembered the tiny blue nightie she'd bought at Frederick's the day she'd caught Irvine in the back room with the sales hussy. Snuggling close to her man, she said in a sultry voice, "We've got a long time 'til the party starts… how 'bout you come to my room, I've got a solstice gift that you'll never forget."

Irvine gave one of his goofy chuckles. "What is it?" He was clueless as always.

"Oh, you'll find out."

~*~

"Oh, it looks beautiful, Selphie," Rinoa gushed about the secret area as soon as she and Squall arrived. That alone told Selphie that she had overdone things with the lights.

"Thank you, Rinoa," Selphie murmured and smiled at the newly reconciled young couple. "It's so good to see you two together again."

"Blessed be the mysterious ways of Hyne," Rinoa intoned almost sounding as though she was reciting from rote. The dark-haired beauty quickly turned and offered Squall a kiss on his lips to quell his obvious verbal protest. His normally taciturn expression broke into a _bishonen_ smile.

Shattering the mood as always, Matt asked, "What are these things, Selphie?" He was holding up one of the hors d'oeuvres.

Zell laughed. "Those are little hotdogs, Matt."

"No, they're not!" Selphie contradicted just barely being able to control not stamping her foot. "They're very expensive Shumi sausages."

Matt popped the miniature sausage into his mouth and then exclaimed, "Easy come, easy go."

Amidst the general groaning, Squall pulled out the gift for Rinoa that had been beautifully wrapped at the Balamb Jewelry Consortium (if it's from Balamb Jewelry, then it's for life) from where he had stashed it earlier and presented it to her.

Unwrapping the package so carefully and meticulously that Quistis wanted to slap her in exasperation, Rinoa finally discovered the bouquet of hand blown crystal roses. "Oh Squall," she cooed. "These are beautiful. Thank you so much." The young sorceress offered the commander another kiss.

After Rinoa had handed her roses to Selphie to show everyone, she reached behind her for the Solstice present she was giving Squall. Amid the amid the oohs and ahs of the young women present, Zell quipped, "Heh, I didn't know you had in you, Squall."

When the commander shot an angry glare at him, Zell fell silent. Squall opened the gift bag that his fiancée presented him and pulled out a new jacket. "Oh, that looks great, Squall," Selphie enthused.

"But I'm just getting this coat broken in," Squall complained.

"Give us a break, Squall," Quistis complained. "Only dirt is holding that jacket together."

"Cleanliness is next to Hyneliness," Matt informed him. Quistis slapped her forehead and downed a shot of Trabian Vodka.

Rinoa pulled off his old coat and helped him don his new one. "Besides, you know Laguna has been bugging you to give him that jacket for the Estharsonian Museum."

"You know," the dark-haired woman went on, "they have something of mine in there too."

"Oh what is it?" Irvine asked. "A blouse or a coat?"

"No, it isn't any kind of clothing like that," Rinoa answered.

"Rinoa!" Quistis exclaimed, scandalized, fearing the worse.

"What? It's my shoes, what did you think I was talking about?"

Amid the general laughter, Squall lowly intoned, "Well, thank you," while kissing the ebony-haired woman on her cheek. She turned and clutched him while planting a long sensual kiss on his lips. "Oooh," everyone present began saying. When she had finished and came up for air, it was quite obvious that the commander was blushing furiously.

"No need to be embarrassed anymore, Squall," Quistis quipped. "You're practically an old married couple." This remark caused him to blush even more.

"By the way," Irvine asked, "where's Ellone?"

"She said something about being exhausted from using a lot of power, whatever that meant," Selphie answered. Squall ducked his head.

Next Quistis offered Matt his Solstice gift that turned out to be several extremely attractive, expensive silk shirts. "Oh Quissy," he said in a smarmy voice. "These are wonderful. Thank you so much and here's yours." He handed her a small CD shaped gift that was wrapped in white tissue paper. Quistis unwrapped it and stared blankly at it.

"It's a CD I burned for you, it has all the love songs that remind me of you on it," Matt told her in an excited voice.

"So I see," she said, trying to generate enough energy to be able to convince everyone she was excited about the gift. Seeing Matt's expectant expression, the blonde woman finally muttered, "It's great, thanks!" in an unconvincing way and kissed him on the cheek. 

Irvine rolled his eyes and whispered something to Selphie who laughed out loud. Nicole shot them a warning look to be polite and Zell, noticing it, asked, "What's going on?"

Rinoa kicked Zell sharply in the ankle. "Ow!" he protested. "I think this was meant for you," Zell explained while kicking Squall who responded with a confused glower.

"Huh? Oh," the prospective bridegroom said, realizing he'd missed something.

The gift giving continued on for the better part of an hour. After all the couples had exchanged their gifts, the rest of the group gave each other their gifts of friendship. It was an altogether pleasant time for everyone involved, mainly due to the copious amounts of alcohol being imbibed.

When the party was drawing to a close, a semi-drunk Squall stood up and announced, "Everyone gather 'round, I want you all to be witnesses!" When the group gathered in a circle around the knight and his sorceress, he pulled out a black velvet box and slipped to one knee before her.

"Rinoa," he began.

"Yes, Squall?" She put a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her pounding heart.

Squall took her left hand. "I have something to ask you."

"Uh huh!" The young woman looked about to hyperventilate.

Squall flipped up the lid of the box to reveal a huge emerald cut blue diamond surrounded with tiny white diamonds. It had cost him two months salary, but he didn't care. "Rinoa Penelope Julia Caraway Heartilly, will you marry me?"

"Penelope?" asked Matt in a loud whisper. Quistis punched him on the shoulder and he shut up. 

Rinoa squealed, then quickly recovered her poise. "Yes, Squall Seigfried Leonhart," she said formally, ignoring Matt's snort at hearing the commander's middle name, "I will marry you." When he slipped the ring on her finger, she pulled him to his feet for a passionate kiss. Their comrades let out a burst of applause and cheers. Even Quistis who was obviously holding back tears of self-pity joined in.

Turning to his friends and raising his bottle of Shumi Beer (from the land of ice blue waters), Squall toasted, "Happy Solstice!" which was echoed by everyone present. 


	27. Friday, The Ball of Doom

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 27

Friday, December the Twenty-second

The Ball of Doom

Rinoa had decorated the Grand Ballroom beautifully. Besides the glorious tall tree with its many, many, many ornaments and its blinking colored lights across the ceiling which spelled out Merry Solstice, the entire area resembled _Laguna Land_ the world's most famous theme park. This recreational area was strangely enough located outside of Shumi Village, although of course when it came to money the Shumis appeared to have their large hands in everything.

The Ballroom was full of dancing couples comprised of SeeDs, guests, and upperclassmen and the rest of the crowd appeared to be enjoying themselves laughing, drinking punch, and talking with each other. Rinoa was wearing a black velvet mini dress, thigh high black velvet boots and matching evening gloves instead of the knit gauntlets she usually wore. The outfit was completed with a satin evening version of her usual duster and a tiara on top of her head. Selphie was rather frustrated that the dark-haired young woman's headpiece was larger than the Winter Festival Queen's crown. 

Rinoa had spent the better part of an hour attempting to convince Squall to go out on the dance floor. Andrea was chatting with a male senior upperclassman named Smeegle who had a crush on her.  Zell stood in one of the corners with Nicole. He was eating from a huge plate of hotdogs he had smuggled into the dance. Of course the main part of the dinner would be served in the Banquet Room later in the evening.

_The Lone Chocobo _had failed to arrive as of yet but the people present appeared to be just as happy with the canned rock and roll music Selphie was having piped onto the dance floor. The next thing on the agenda would be to crown Quistis as the Winter Festival Queen, but no one was certain where she was.

Selphie stormed across the dance floor, the crinolines holding out the skirt of her tiny yellow satin dress flouncing as she walked. She stopped at the entrance of the ballroom and tapped her perfectly polished Mary Jane on the marble floor as she peered into the dim hallway for a sign of Quistis. The green-eyed young woman felt quite put out when she discovered that Quistis had finally gotten bored with everything and gone for a walk, and had already dispatched several people to go search her out.

_I can_'_t believe she would do this to me after I_'_ve tried so hard_. _I realize she_'_s under a lot of stress_, _but I wish she would just make up her damn mind one way or the other about Matt_.

Two of the SeeDs who Selphie had sent out had just run up to her out of breath in apparent excitement. As her cell phone had just chirped its 'We Wish You a Merry Solstice' acknowledgement that it needed to be answered, Selphie held up her right hand as a warning for silence.

"Hello," Selphie shrilled. "Happy holidays! This is Selphie, how may I serve you? Oh? Oh, I see. That's very disappointing. I expect you to return our deposit in full. What?! No, I don't see your failure to get here because of a snowstorm as an act of Hyne. Why should we pay because you didn't buy any snow tires? Well, goodbye! You can expect to hear from me concerning this next week! Same to you, fella!"

Selphie was terribly sorry that you could no longer slam down a cell phone the way you used to be able to with an old fashioned telephone after an unsatisfactory conversation.

"Well, that's great," she declared sarcastically. "_The Lone Chocobo_ can't get here because of the snow storm." Turning to the two SeeDs who had just approached her, the Winter Festival chairperson asked, "Yes, what is it? Did you locate Quistis?"

Danine, the young woman who was second in command of Rinoa's decorating sub-committee spoke in an tremulous voice, "No, but something horrible has happened."

Selphie noticed that Danine's eyes had protruded to an almost painful appearing degree. _I wish Quisty had never pointed that out to me_. _Now it's all I notice when I look at her_.

"Well, what is it?!" Selphie asked impatiently.

"All the food is gone!" Danine exclaimed.

"What?!" Selphie all but shouted, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," agreed Shana, "plus someone has taken all the presents!"

"OH-SUPER-DUPER-MEGA-BUMMER!" the brown-haired young woman shouted out. "Wah!" she began to cry.

Irvine hurried to her side; as well he should after having just finished returning to Selphie's good graces with a bang. "Sefie, what is it?"

"Wah! Someone..." -sniff- "...has...robbed...presents...food…"-sob.

 "Oh my sweet ammo!" Irvine exclaimed. "What else can go wrong?"

The lights flickered once and then the Garden stood in total darkness.

 "I wish you hadn't asked that question," commented Shana.

"Stop that you pervert!" protested Danine.

"It wasn't me, Selphie!" Irvine called out, not wanting to be blamed for something he hadn't done.

"Bob!" screeched Reba. "Put your clothes back on!"

"Wah!" Selphie continued to cry.

"Selphie, calm down," Rinoa entreated. "Squall will take care of it, won't you dear?"

There was only silence emanating from Squall's area. "Well?" Rinoa snapped impatiently.

"Huh, oh yeah. I'll take care of it," the commander assured them.

Pulling out his cell phone and turning it on, Squall hit the speed dial for Xu.

"Hello," he heard Xu answer.

"This is Squall. I need you to turn on the emergency generator."

"Yes sir."

"By the way, where are you? You sound close." 

"I'm standing behind you," answered Xu with amusement in her voice.

"Oh great," the commander responded sarcastically.

"Bob, I'm not kidding around here," Reba spoke again. "Now put your clothes back on – right now!"

Flipping his cell phone off, and putting it away, he turned around to face Xu. "Who's not at the dance who can turn on the generator?"

"I believe that Cid's not here."

Squall expressed his feelings concerning that in a large sigh. There was the sound of a match being struck and the smell of carbon filled the air. A momentary minute flare of fire was seen and then it disappeared.

"I don't know who's smoking what where," Selphie warned, recognizing the bitter-sweet scent of burning Gysahl greens, "but it better not be anywhere near that Solstice tree."

"I'll go do it," Squall said wearily feeling his way out of the ballroom.

"Bob, this is your last warning," Reba threatened, "Or I will rack you so hard you won't see them 'til next Solstice!"

A few minutes later the lights were returned and the crowd broke into excited cheering. The highly odious Bob was nowhere to be seen. 

"There, I told you Squall could take care of it," Rinoa said proudly.

Selphie glanced around the huge room and immediately observed her worst fear concerning the dried out Solstice tree. There were several SeeDs attempting to hide behind it while smoking Gysahl greens. They were giggling insanely and not paying attention to anything or anybody.

"Hey!" Selphie shouted out. "Put that out right now!"

The time would arrive very shortly that the green-eyed SeeD would rue her choice of words. The startled SeeDs did the very first thing they could think of and that was to be shed of the evidence. They threw the Gysahl greens cigarette into the bucket that the Solstice tree was planted in assuming the water in the bucket would smother the burning spear. What they didn't realize was between the dehydration and Angelo's drinking from the bucket there was no moisture left and the tree was as dry as the Estharian Desert.

As soon as the burning coal from the Gysahl greens hit the dried up tree, it went up in a giant fireball and seconds later it was nothing but ashes! The three SeeDs jumped back quickly.

One of them exclaimed, "Wow! Look at that!"

"Yeah," another one agreed. "Trippy!"

"SUPER-DUPER-MEGA-BUMMER!" Selphie screamed. "Look what you've done to my tree!" she accused.

"Well, it was an ugly tree anyway," one of the SeeDs said in his defense.

"Haha! At least it's out of its misery."

"What did you say?" Selphie shouted.

"Selphie, calm down," Rinoa suggested.

"Calm down?! Calm down?! This is your fault! You and that damn _dog_!"

"My fault? How dare you!"

"Yes, your fault! If you had kept your dog from drinking all the water out of the bucket like I asked it wouldn't have been so dry and this wouldn't have happened."

"That tree was too darn big anyway, Selphie. And you know it," the young sorceress defended her dog. "There was no way you could keep it from becoming dried out."

Some modicum of control snapped within Selphie. "This entire festival has turned into the biggest bag over the face – punch in the head of all time." Selphie kicked out blindly at the ruined tree.

Rinoa jumped back while still attempting to calm her escalating friend. "Selphie," she said to no avail.

"Hee hee hee," Selphie giggled inappropriately. "If anyone wants to give me a Solstice gift, I want them to bring me the Winter Witch so I can tell her what a #%^&@*! (this was censured because of the PG-13 rating) she really is."

"Now Selphie, you don't really mean that. You're just upset," declared Rinoa.

"I do mean it!" Selphie cried out stamping her foot in frustration.

"I've done everything that I could humanly possibly do to provide a glorious Winter Festival for everybody and look what I get! A burnt tree, no food, no gifts, no rock and roll group, the Winter Festival Queen wandering off just before her coronation, and Seifer running amuck in the Garden!"

"Seifer? Did she say Seifer?" someone in the crowd murmured.

"Oh poor Selphie," Nicole said to Zell in a low voice. "She's obviously lost her mind. She thinks Seifer is alive."

Irvine approached his fuming girlfriend with some trepidation. "Sefie, calm down. I'll try to help you."

"Oh Irvy," she cooed throwing the cowboy off balance for the moment. "Do you really want to help me?"

"Of course."

"Then take that monstrosity out of that bucket and get me fresh water!" she screamed.

As Irvine scurried away actually glad to no longer be in the immediate vicinity of his temporarily insane girlfriend, Selphie turned to Rinoa. "You come with me," she ordered and grasped Rinoa by the hand.

Leading the young sorceress from the ballroom, the green-eyed young woman asked, "Do you know anything about operating a chain saw?"

"A chain saw?! Now wait a minute, Selphie. I don't think this is a good idea," Rinoa protested having a sudden vision of an out of control Selphie swinging a chain saw in a wide arc.

"I don't care what you think. I need to cut down another tree!"

"Well, a chain saw is very dangerous. You could easily get hurt or both of us for that matter. How about I just use _Tonberry_ again?"

Selphie drew to a complete stop and stood thinking for a moment. "Ok," she finally agreed. "That'll work. Let's go!" Grasping Rinoa by the hand again, Selphie pulled her along quickly.

A few minutes later Rinoa stood shivering in the dark in the middle of a raging blizzard. "Selphie, at least we could have stopped and gotten our coats," the dark-haired woman complained.

"No time! No time!" Selphie squealed insanely. "Let's head into those woods by the _Fire Cave_."

"Selphie!" Rinoa exclaimed. "That forest has T-Rexaurs in it!"

"Good, maybe it can help us chop down a tree!" She cackled without any real mirth in her voice and did a little insane dance before leading Rinoa forcibly into the forest.

 "There!" Selphie pointed out the tree she desired. "I want that one!" she exclaimed, while running around it repeatedly.

"Okay, Selphie, calm down," Rinoa pleaded as she cast _Tonberry_.

This time the young sorceress made certain to allow for which way the wind was blowing and the direction that the GF would strike the tree from. As it fell safely away from them, Rinoa inquired somewhat sarcastically, "Have you given any thought as to how we're gonna lug this big tree out of here?"

Before Selphie could answer, the largest T-Rexaur either one of them had even seen stepped into the clearing.

"EKKK!" the black-haired woman screamed. "I knew it! I knew it!"

Selphie ordered, "Rinoa, grab the tree and help me pull it out of here!"

The young women discovered much to their surprise, that with the adrenaline coursing through their bodies from their fight or flight mechanism, it was mere child's play to move the tree out of the forest. Although it would appear strange to anyone watching that the T-Rexaur didn't follow them on to the plain, the young women realized that it was so. It was just one of the many inexplicable truisms of their existence.

"Now what are we going to do?" Rinoa whined unpleasantly.

"Well, for one thing," Selphie quipped, "if you don't knock it off, I'm gonna serve some cheese with that whine of yours."

"Hmmph!" 

"Take your duster off and tie it onto the tree so we can pull it," the green-eyed young woman ordered.

"I will not! I'm not ruining my duster like that."

"Come on, Rinoa. You know you have a whole closet full of 'em."

"This one is special!" Rinoa thought for a moment. "And just what are you doing in my closet?" the young woman accused.

"Come on, Rinoa. You're begging the issue. Just do it so we can get in out of the cold!"

A few minutes later, a completely exhausted Selphie and Rinoa had managed somehow to pull the long tree up to the gates of the Garden. When the SeeDs and upperclassmen on duty recognized the commander's fiancée and the Winter Festival chairperson they were quick to volunteer their services in transporting the tree up to the ballroom.

Rinoa spent the time waiting for the tree to arrive by checking out all her aches and sprains making certain she had suffered no lasting damage in her travails with the tree. Finally the SeeDs appeared with it and Irvine helped them secure it in the bucket that had been newly filled with water.

"Well, just don't stand there everybody," Selphie directed. "Help me decorate it."

People salvaged whatever ornaments hadn't initially been destroyed in the tree burning and also took some down from other places, with Rinoa's permission of course, to help fill out the sparse decorations on the new Solstice tree.

When they had finished, Selphie stepped back and using her hands like a camera lens she peered through them and proclaimed, "Now that looks pretty darn good."

Everyone stood and admired the new tree while they complimented Selphie and Rinoa on what a fine job they had done. Nicole asked, "What's that sound? It's a funny squeaking sound."

As everyone fell silent, Zell laughed and responded, "You're hearing things."

"No, wait," Selphie declared. "I hear it too," the brown-haired young woman said, while moving aside some limbs and peering carefully into the bowels of the tree.

Suddenly a small white-faced capuchin monkey jumped out of the tree right onto Selphie's head!

"EKKK!" she screamed.

Irvine moved quickly and attempted to hit the monkey with his cowboy hat. Unfortunately the monkey had since moved and the young cowboy hit Selphie directly on her crown with it.

"OW!" she cried out. "What are you doing, Irvine? Trying to kill me?"

The monkey ran around the tree and then jumped back into it for protection. "It's that damn Mr. Monkey!" Squall called out.

"You suck! You suck!" the monkey cried.

"Mr. Monkey?" Nicole questioned. "Has Squall lost his mind again?"

"No," laughed Zell. "But you wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Try me," his girlfriend invited.

"Well, it all started at Obel Lake, north of Timber," Zell began.

From within the tree, Mr. Monkey shouted at Squall. "Your Mom wears combat boots!"

"Nobody can talk about my mother that way, particularly some damn monkey," Squall muttered while drawing his gunblade.

"Squall, no!" Rinoa warned. When she realized his rage knew no reason and he was going to attack Mr. Monkey in the tree, she quickly cast a sleep spell.

But alas the dark-haired woman was not swift enough to stop Squall from attacking the monkey and the tree – **BANG! BANG! SWISH! **And the tree now lay in two separate pieces on the ballroom floor. Squall then fell sound asleep.

"OH NO!" caterwauled Selphie who fainted dead away.

That was the last note of the Winter Festival Ball. Angelo chased Mr. Monkey all over the Garden knocking down people and various decorations along the way before the monkey escaped out the front gates. Rinoa was certainly glad Selphie hadn't witnessed any of that because she realized she never would have heard the end of it. Selphie woke up thirty minutes later on a cot in the infirmary as likewise did Squall, except he was in his own bed cradling _Lionheart_ in his arms. The dance was no more as it was discovered that when the lights had failed, someone had stolen all the CD's.

And thus ended mercifully what was known as ever hereafter as the Ball of Doom.


	28. Friday, A Merry Solstice to All

Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 28

Friday, December the Twenty-second

A Merry Solstice to All

Seifer sat back in his chair on the two back legs with his long legs sprawled across a desk. He was very pleased with the 'work' he and his posse had accomplished as he gazed upon the huge pile of food, presents, unopened beverages, CD's, etc.

_Man_, _there_'_s a lot of Gil there_, the blond man thought. _And best of all we ruined a lot of people_'_s Solstice_. _Mwaha_ – _Oh_, _I was gonna stop doing that_.

Wondering what shenanigans Fujin and Raijin were up to, Seifer stood up with plans to go investigate. The former knight realized he would rather go and pay that louse Trepe's room a visit. He figured she certainly deserved whatever extra he could do just to her.

Seifer left the MD level and traveled to the first floor. He walked along the first floor passageway inside the walls and was struck once again with the feeling that he could faintly hear something or someone. Seifer stopped and when he couldn't hear anything further, he shook his head once as if to clear it in order to hear better but he still heard nothing out of the ordinary. Wondering if he was beginning to go slightly tetched as he had heard Squall did for awhile with hearing voices of people who weren't there, he traveled on down the passageway until he reached the hallway of the women's dorm where Quistis' room was located.

Standing by the inside of the wall and listening intently, Seifer realized probably everyone was at the Ball and he stepped out into the corridor. Not observing anyone, he hurried down to Trepe's room and let himself in. The former knight quickly glanced around the room wondering what havoc he could wreak or what he could steal that would hurt her the most when he was momentarily struck dumb; because what he saw he couldn't quite believe.

The entire room was decorated to celebrate his birthday. There were crepe streamers hanging from the ceiling and on the walls, and a long banner heralding in bright red letters, _Happy Birthday Seifer_. A huge birthday cake on Quistis' desk and a large pile of presents with labels bearing his name on her bed.

Seifer stood completely dumbfounded as the minutes slowly ticked by. _No one has ever remembered my birthday_. _I hardly remember it anymore_. _How did she know_? Glancing around furtively as if to check if anyone was watching him, Seifer reached up and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

The young man was completely _at sea_. He had absolutely no idea how to handle this because it was a totally new situation for him. Seifer asked himself, _Should I stay or should I go_?

The question was fated to be soon academic as he heard Quistis using her key to open the door when suddenly Seifer recognized Matt's angry voice in the hallway.

"Quistis! Where have you been?"

"Walking," came her annoyed voice, "I am allowed to do that aren't I?

"Everyone's been looking for you, we are supposed to be crowned, you know."

Seifer crept forward to peer out the peephole in the door, but all he could see was the back of Quistis' head. 

"We?" Quistis retorted.

"Yes, we," said Matt. "I am the Winterfest King after all."

Quistis snorted. "Excuse me, but I never _asked _you to be my king!"

"It was the obvious choice, I mean, I am your fiancé!" he whined.

"You know," griped Quistis, "you never proposed! You just put the damn ring on my finger."

"Okay, fine! Quistis will you marry me?"

"No!" 

This was followed by a very pregnant silence.

"Why not?" Seifer could barely hear Matt's voice through the door. "You've been wearing the ring."

"That's only because you couldn't be bothered to find out my size. It's too small and now the piece of junk is stuck!"

"Junk? How can you say that Quissy?" Matt whined.

"Stop calling me Quissy!"

"I never thought you were a gold-digger!"

The door shuddered as Quistis slammed her fist into it. "Just because you are a cheap-ass bastard doesn't make me a gold-digger!"

_You go, Quistis, _thought Seifer, smirking. 

Matt snorted. "Oh please! Like I didn't notice that fake thank you when you opened my gift tonight!"

"You should have noticed it! That was the lamest gift I've ever received, hell, even the slugs Seifer put in my solstice stocking at the orphanage when we were kids made a better gift!"

_She remembers that? _Seifer thought, his heart lurching.

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" Matt demanded in a choked voice.

"What? Slugs?" Quistis sounded confused.

"Seifer!"

"Where?" 

Matt continued, his voice growing more frenzied. "Yes, Seifer! That's what this is all about!" Quistis had moved from in front of the door and Seifer was able to see her soon to be ex boyfriend pacing the corridor. "You started acting weird at about the same time you started having those ghost sightings. And I heard the rumors about you and Seifer!"

"What rumors?"

Matt ignored her. "I didn't want to believe you'd lost your instructors license because you were having an affair with your student-!"

"What?"

"-But I took a chance on you, even though it was embarrassing to me that you'd ever been fired in the first place! And now it turns out the rumors were true!" He turned and pointed an accusing finger at the blonde woman. "You are in love with Seifer!"

"Well, that's true," Quistis admitted in a quiet voice. Both Seifer and Matt stared at her with dropped jaws. Seeing Matt's expression, Quistis stated, "I am in love with Seifer."

"You slut!" He sneered at her, and it was all Seifer could do not to break down the door and splatter Matt all over the Garden. "You freaking loony! You're in love with a damn ghost!"

Quistis threw her hands in the air. "That's it! I'm out of here!" She stomped away.

"Hey!" Matt followed after her. "I want my ring back!"

"I'll give your ring back, I'll give you a broken back!" was the last thing Seifer heard Quistis say as the arguing couple disappeared down the corridor.

Exiting her room, Seifer snuck back to the secret entrance in the hall. _There's still time to save Solstice, there's just gotta be!_

~*~

Seifer hurriedly returned to the MD level in time to observe Raijin and Fujin bringing down some more of their purloined 'treasure." Looking at the same pile of pile of food, presents, unopened beverages, and CD's that had filled him with happiness not so very long before now stabbed him with guilt. Seifer realized he had totally misunderstood Quistis' emotions and behavior.

"Hey, Seifer," Raijin called out. "Look – we got some more, ya know."

"Take it back!"

"Wha?!" Raijin couldn't believe his own ears.

"Take it all back, I didn't stutter!"

Fujin smiled.

"Here," Seifer directed hauling out some plastic garbage bags they usually used for collecting trash. "Help me bag this stuff up."

A few minutes later, most of the stolen paraphernalia had been bagged in preparation of returning it. Seifer and his cohorts chose to cross on a little traveled bridge that spanned a large filthy lake of old oil because it would have been too difficult to use the ladder while carrying the huge plastic bags of the stolen goods.

Unfortunately unbeknownst to any of them, the bridge was old and rickety. It began to loudly complain under the combined weight of the two large men and the female form of Fujin.

"Get back!" Seifer ordered while giving Raijin a slight shove to help encourage him to move back from where they had just left. The former knight was then startled to observe Quistis stepping onto the bridge, she looked like an angel in her ivory velvet ball gown.

_What the hell is she doing here now_? "Quistis, get back!" Seifer shouted.

Quistis knew nothing of Seifer's visit to her room or his most recent change of heart. If she hadn't still been so preoccupied with her continuing frustration with Matt and the emotional turmoil she was experiencing she might have noticed the note of panic in her former student's voice and obeyed him. As it was, the young woman assumed Seifer was still furious with her and was ordering her to return topside.

_I will not_! she thought indignantly. _He can_'_t tell me what to do_.

Quistis continued toward the trio and the added weight proved to be the old bridge's undoing as it began to break completely apart.

"Oh no!" Raijin shouted. "Everything will be ruined, ya know."

"Don't worry about that now. Just save yourselves!" Seifer shouted.

Too late Quistis realized why Seifer had shouted at her to go back. Raijin and Fujin fled the falling bridge while the blond man was moving quickly in the opposite direction. The bridge was rapidly deteriorating beneath the instructor. Quistis, not knowing anything else to do to save herself, summoned a Guardian Force. Unfortunately the only GF she was junctioned with was Siren, having wanted to use the 'Move-Find' ability in case Seifer had proven difficult to locate.

As Siren rapidly appeared, Seifer lunged and, grabbing Quistis, yanked her off the bridge just before it totally collapsed. Siren, observing her mistress was safe, did the next best thing and saved the bags from landing in the filthy oil lake. Seifer, Quistis, the plastic bags, and Siren all landed in a heap on the near side of what formerly had been a bridge and now was nothing more than open air over the lake of oil.

"Whoa! She's hot, ya know," exclaimed Raijin. "OW! What'd you kick me for?"

"PERVERT!"

Even with all that going wrong, Quistis was amazed when Seifer was able to throw his head back and roar in laughter. "You two never change!" 

She was struck with how incredibly different he appeared when all was at peace within himself and his world; so soft and vulnerable.

"Do you have any further need of me?" Siren asked.

"No, thank you," said Quistis.

"Then I shall take my leave." Siren smiled, and was gone.

Turning to Seifer, Quistis murmured, "You saved my life, Seifer. Thank you." 

The former knight blushed furiously. "Er, no problem."

When she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, Raijin began snickering wildly. Seifer turned and shook his fist. "Be quiet, you!" Then turned back to Quistis who had just noticed a few of the things that had fallen from one of the bags.

"What are you doing with all of this?" she asked, picking up a Pollyanna gift that could only have been wrapped by Zell. 

Seifer scratched his head nervously. "Um, well… we were um… stealing Solstice." 

Quistis sighed and shook her head. "Oh Seifer…" was all she could say.

A look of sad desperation crossed his face. "But I changed my mind! We were just returning it when you came down and the bridge broke and" -he took a deep breath- "if we get this stuff back now we can still save Solstice!"

"That's true, Seifer, but you know you'll probably be arrested if you come up. I'll take the stuff… you stay here, and you'll be safe."

Seifer shook his head. "No… I'm tired of hiding. I'd rather face the consequences. I'm going with you."

"But-," Quistis stopped when Seifer put a finger to her lips. 

"Please, Quistis…"

She nodded in response.

After Seifer yelled his game plan to his posse, Raijin responded, "No way, man! Where you go, we go, ya know!" Fujin nodded.

With a growl, Seifer said, "FINE! We'll meet you upstairs at the entrance by the classroom!" Picking up the bags, Quistis and Seifer made their way back to the ball.

~*~

Seifer, Quistis, Raijin, and Fujin stood among all the food, presents, unopened beverages, and CDs they had just liberated from the confines of the plastic bags they had transported them in. They in turn were surrounded by a large group of surprised SeeDs and upperclassmen but most of all by a befuddled appearing although deeply gratified Selphie.

She gushed, "Oh thank you all so much," and stepped forward. Rising up on her tiptoes, Selphie kissed Seifer lightly on his cheek much to his surprise. The crowd broke into spontaneous applause.

Quistis noticed that the Solstice tree had been partially repaired by wrapping yards of Estharian duct tape (the tape that nine out of ten ducks prefer) around the middle of the two separate pieces of the tree in an effort to once again have just one tree. The attempt had only been partially successful at best and was hideously appearing at worse. Selphie and some of the other people present had attempted to redecorate it in a minimalist fashion considering that the amount of unbroken decorations had diminished considerably.

Forty-five minutes later, everything appeared halfway presentable again. The presents had been situated beneath the tree. The food was now steaming on some extra tables that had been brought in from the banquet room and music from the CD's once again was blaring from the speakers.

Laguna had finally appeared and was surrounded by a group of excited SeeDs and upperclassmen. Xu stood by his side constantly smiling at him and drinking in his every word. Squall stood with Rinoa on the sidelines, his arm wrapped around her waist pulling her close to him. Seifer and Quistis were wrapped around each other in the middle of the dance floor slow dancing to a fast number. He bent down and whispered something in her ear. She smiled gloriously at him and offered a kiss. Zell stood beside Nicole (who had finally recovered from the knowledge that Seifer was not a ghost), his plate once more stacked high with hotdogs. Irvine stood patiently by Selphie's side as she explained the best way to go about planning a Festival to a group of upperclassmen. All was right within Balamb Garden for the first time in almost three weeks.

Suddenly the newfound peace and tranquility was shattered when the ballroom doors burst open and a squadron of Galbadian troops entered the room.

"Here's a message from General Mitchell," the leader exclaimed pointing his weapon directly at Laguna.

Seifer moved first diving at Laguna and knocking him to the floor while the bullets whistled harmlessly above them. Irvine pushed Selphie away from him into the group of upperclassman, knelt on one knee and began rapidly firing into the squad of soldiers who were dropping like flies. Zell carefully handed his plate of hotdogs to Nicole and then waded into the fray, making certain that Irvine saw him so he wouldn't be picked off by friendly fire; left and right soldiers were falling to his flailing fists. Squall drew _Lionheart_ and **BANG! BANG! SWISH!** The enemy threw down their weapons down and turned to flee, and Quistis would grab them by the arm, and flip them on to their backs. When they arose to their feet Rinoa would karate chop them across their throats and then when their hands naturally moved upwards, she would kick them in their nether regions leaving them writhing in a ball on the floor.

In a mere matter of seconds, it was all over; although the room was now a complete shambles again. The gifts were destroyed, the food had been trampled, and the tree lay in several pieces.

Selphie took one look at the massive destruction of all her plans and she shook her fist upwards. "Okay, whoever you are, you win. I give up." And she threw herself into a corner beginning to cry, "Wah!"

As Irvine ran to comfort her, Squall stepped forward and took charge ordering, "Take the wounded to the clinic. Stack the dead in the Ragnarok. We'll send them back to Deling together as a message to Mitchell that he'll have to try harder."

Seifer stood up and then assisted Laguna up off the floor. "You saved my life, son. I owe you my deepest gratitude."

"No problem, don't worry about it," the former knight deadpanned.

"Oh, but I am," Laguna insisted. "I'm well aware of your situation and I'm gonna speak with Cid concerning you and what can be done to help you."

"I appreciate it, don't get me wrong; although I don't think there's much Cid can do about it," Seifer answered.

"I think you're wrong," the older man replied, "but if you're not, you come to me in Esthar. You can live there and I'll help you do anything you want in any way that I can."

Surprise crossed Seifer's handsome expression for a second. "Well, thank you," he murmured. "I appreciate that."

While the room was cleared of the dead and wounded, Seifer and Quistis, at Quistis' suggestion and with Fujin's permission, returned to the MD level and brought up the pretty tree that Fujin had decorated. At Fujin's request, the blonde woman also picked up the gift that Fujin had gotten for Seifer.

After the tree had been appropriately situated in a new bucket of water, Squall suddenly burst into song much to everyone's amazement.

_"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?_

_In the lane, snow is glistening_

_A beautiful sight,_

_We're happy tonight,_

_Walking in a winter wonderland."_

Here Squall reached out for Rinoa and taking her by the arm began to stroll around the center of the room as the others had fallen away to the sidelines. A group of junior classman, members of the Solstice choir, who were at their own party nearby, heard the loud off key caterwauling of Squall and raced in to provide backup singing.

Some low unpleasant murmurings swept the crowd, while a few people laughed hysterically. Nicole turned to Zell and expressed, "Oh poor Squall! He's really lost it this time, hasn't he?"

Zell, for once, couldn't think of a thing to say and remained silent as Squall continued to lead Rinoa around the room as though they were on a walk in the countryside.

_"Gone away is the bluebird,_

_Here to stay is a new bird_

_He sings a love song,_

_As we go along,_

_walking in a winter wonderland."_

Rinoa was highly embarrassed and she flushed uncomfortably, but remained by her fiancé's side knowing they would be married soon and realized she might as well as begin accepting 'for better or worse'. Seifer guffawed his big laugh and whispered to Quistis, "He really is puberty boy now," as Squall continued to sing and act out the lyrics by pretending to build a snowman and then stand in front of it with Rinoa.

_"In the meadow we can build a snowman_,

Then pretend that he is Parson Brown 

_He_'_ll say_:_ Are you married_?

_We_'_ll say_: _No man_

_But you can do the job_

_When you_'_re in town_."

Irvine leaned over Selphie where she still lay in the corner. He patted her gently on the hand and then said, while helping her to regain her feet, "Come on, Selphie. You have to see this. You're not gonna believe it!"

Squall resumed walking his fiancée around the room and, then standing in front of the tree, sang:

_"Later on_,_ we_'_ll conspire_,

_as we dream by the fire_

_To face unafraid_,

the plans that we made,

_Walking in a winter wonderland_."

Much to everyone's continued amazement, the normally taciturn commander once again pantomimed building a snowman.

_"In the meadow we can build a snowman,_

_and pretend that he_'_s a circus clown_

_We_'_ll have lots of fun with mister snowman_,

_until all the kids knock him down_."

Squall once again began walking Rinoa around the room as if they were strolling in the countryside. He sang,

_"When it snows_, _ain_'_t it thrilling_,

Though your nose gets a chilling 

_We_'_ll frolic and play_, _the Trabian way_,

_walking in a winter wonderland_."

Right then snow began to fall gently into the Garden from the skylight. Apparently all of the unusual activity had somehow structurally damaged the glass.

"Oh look. Booyaka!" Selphie cried out. "It's a gift from the fairies."

 When the last note died on Squall's lips, the lovely Rinoa stepped back and offered a curtsey to his performance. Squall smiled at her and the crowd broke into applause and whistling. Cid and Edea had recently joined the festivities and he obviously grimaced at the destruction that had been wreaked to the Garden. Edea, noticing this, playfully punched him in the ribs as if to say to lighten up, 'Solstice only comes once a year.' He turned to her and mouthed the words, _I love you_.

Quistis quietly conferred with Seifer and then he assisted her in hanging his Solstice present to her, the beautiful crystal snowflake, to the very top of the tree. When they stepped back to their amazement the snowflake began to glow and pulsate.

Everyone stood in silence wondering what new atrocity was about to occur when suddenly a Guardian Force in the figure of a young woman seemed to appear from the crystal snowflake. She was a platinum blonde, beautiful in every form and aspect, and dressed wholly in white in a full gown.

"It's the Winter Witch!!" Selphie joyously cried out. "She's real!"

"Indeed I am, little one," she said while reaching out and gently touched the green-eyed SeeD on top of her head. Selphie felt serenity wash through her entire body for the first time in her life.

"Contrary to popular belief, Griever is not the most powerful guardian force, I am; although I can only create and bring joy."

So saying, the Winter Witch waved her right hand and everything was restored as it originally was, except the beautiful crystal snowflake still glistened and gleamed high atop Selphie's tall tree.

Suddenly all the Galbadian soldiers who had been needlessly killed popped back into existence. Looking around, they threw their weapons down on the floor and then followed by falling on their knees in front of the Winter Witch.

"Please forgive us," one pleaded. "We knew not what we did." As the Winter Witch nodded, he turned his head and looked at Cid. "We wish to remain and fight with Garden."

"All this is so sudden, it's hard to sort out," Cid answered, "but you're more than welcomed to stay the night with us until a decision can be reached."

"Good enough," the soldier replied, while he and the rest of the Galbadians regained their feet at the Winter Witch's urging.

"But what brought you here now?" Selphie asked.

The Winter Witch looked at the adorable young woman and smiled. "I sealed myself in that crystal snowflake many centuries ago because of all the hate and malice in the world. I could no longer tolerate it. Later I discovered that I was trapped, and couldn't leave. It was the caroling of Squall and the opening of Quistis and Seifer's hearts that set me free from my self-imposed prison."

Turning to Quistis and smiling, the Guardian Force explained, "Since it was your snowflake I will become yours to junction.

Quistis gently shook her head no. "I grant you your freedom in the name of all that is Holy in the world."

The crowd once again broke into spontaneous applause and cheering while the Winter Witch bowed her thanks. As the GF disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived, two Solstice lights blew out on the tree. Zell explained to Nicole, "Every time a Solstice light blows out, it means an angel gets its wings."

Nicole smiled at him, but thought to herself that Zell's trolley had slipped off the tracks by just a hair. Ellone stepped up and touched Zell on the arm. "That's right, Zell," she smiled at him.

Squall noted with a sinking in his stomach that Rinoa had left his side to go speak with Selphie who was standing by the stack of CD's to be played. He had an awful certainty that his fiancée was going to ask the green-eyed young woman to play that Hyne awful 'Dance of the Balamb Fish,' the very first song they had danced to. He realized with resignation that he owed her because of the manner that she had participated with him in the singing of 'Winter Wonderland.'

Consequently Squall was delighted to learn after Rinoa had led him out into the center of the ballroom dance floor that she had instead chosen the traditional, but now seldom heard, 'Aeris' Song,' a personal favorite of it. The handsome young man smiled his thanks at his sweetheart.

Squall and Rinoa whisked gracefully around the room as they did on that fateful first night and the other dancers retired to the sidelines to watch. Irvine squeezed Selphie's hand and expressed, "I love you, Sefie,"

The diminutive young woman smiled up at her lover and echoed, "I love you too, Irvy," and stepped on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Zell was stuffing half of a hotdog on a bun into his mouth when Nicole suddenly pulled it and his hand down. "Hey!" he complained.

"Kiss me, you fool," she ordered.

Smiling broadly, he leaned down and bestowed a passionate kiss on his girlfriend.

Across the large ballroom Fujin approached the standing Seifer and Quistis. She pressed her small wrapped Solstice present into Seifer's hand.

"Fujie, thank you, but I don't want to open this right now," he protested.

"**NOW!**" Fujin exclaimed loudly calling attention to them.

Rather than risk any more of a scene, Seifer did as directed. Quistis looked on quizzically as the blond young man unwrapped a box that held a beautiful golden woman's ring. The former knight held it up to his eyes and observed the manner in which it glistened in the light.

Seifer looked in askance at Fujin as he entreated, "Fujin, what in the world is this?"

"**IDIOT!**" she exclaimed and then pointed at Quistis.

"Oh," Seifer replied, as recognition finally crossed his face.

Turning to Quistis, he took her by the hand and pushed the ring onto her ring finger (it had taken a whole can of vegetable shortening to dislodge the ring that Matt had given her). It was a perfect fit. Fujin had obviously gone to a great deal of trouble to get this right.

"Oh no! What is this?" Quistis questioned, blushing.

"Call it what you will," the handsome young man responded. "An engagement ring, a friendship ring, I don't care. It means we're gonna try and see what happens. What d'you say?"

Quistis offered a kiss as her answer and then led him out to the dance floor. The rest of those present then crowded the floor now as they had been waiting for a signal that it was okay to resume dancing. As Quistis and Seifer whirled by Matt standing by the sideline, she couldn't help but notice how lost and forlorn he appeared and despite it all, her heart went out to the young man.

Fujin approached Matt and appeared to pull him out on the dance floor against his wishes, but once they were out there he began to dance seriously, pulling her close to him. The beautiful blonde woman espied this and it caused her to feel happy that he was no longer feeling so left out. Quistis nudged Seifer and pointed it out to him.

"She'll eat him alive," Seifer whispered. Quistis giggled in agreement.

The former knight took his newfound love by her hand and led her out to the balcony.

"I love you, Quistis," he told her, entranced by the reflections of the twinkling Solstice lights in her blue eyes.

"I love you, too, Seifer!" She drew him in for a kiss just as a shout from Laguna rang out from within:

"Merry Solstice, one and all!"

**~**The End~

Somewhere deep in the bowels of the Garden, Nida shuffled endlessly mindlessly through myriad hallways and corridors still seeking his way out. As he hobbled along, Nida clutched his bag of money close to his breast while murmuring repeatedly, "Oh my precious, come to daddy."

~The ***Official* **End**~**

Dick Smith, Felix Bernard wrote Winter Wonderland in 1934.

We wish to thank Ashbear for her generously allowing us to use the character of General Mitchell. If you have not read her wonderful fanfic – Crimson Lies – go there immediately. http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=387402 


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